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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pound — a weight
  4. key — for a lock
  5. root — the cause
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. court — for sport
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. court — of a king
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — in music
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. march — the month
  17. bat — the animal
  18. root — of a plant
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. court — of law
  21. march — the month
  22. root — of a word
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. band — a music group

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