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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. march — the month
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. face — to confront
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. sharp — clever
  13. capital — money
  14. key — the most important part
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. key — in music
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. march — music
  21. key — for a lock
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. face — to point toward
  24. capital — a city

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