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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rock — music
  3. march — the month
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rock — a stone
  8. march — the month
  9. last — final
  10. land — to come down
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. land — ground
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. land — a country
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. mine — for digging
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. march — music
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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