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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pop — music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pop — to visit
  5. fall — the season
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. pop — soda
  13. march — music
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. squash — the sport
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. racket — for tennis

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