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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 120 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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. lie — to recline
  3. firm — steady
  4. march — the month
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. march — music
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. file — a document
  10. capital — a city
  11. chip — to eat
  12. capital — money
  13. firm — decided
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cell — in biology
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cell — a phone
  20. file — a tool
  21. firm — a company
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chip — for betting
  24. lie — an untruth

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