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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. toast — bread
  8. squash — to crush
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. field — farmland
  12. cap — a lid
  13. field — a subject
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — government
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cap — a hat
  19. field — for sport
  20. fork — in a road
  21. march — the month
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cap — of ice

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