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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. squash — to crush
  3. charge — in control
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. squash — the sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. ground — a position
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. field — a subject
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. charge — a price
  17. kid — child
  18. ground — crushed
  19. charge — electricity
  20. ground — the earth
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. field — for sport
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com