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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. ball — a great time
  3. march — the month
  4. net — after costs
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. march — the month
  11. cell — a phone
  12. ball — a dance
  13. net — in sport
  14. land — to come down
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lean — thin
  17. net — for catching
  18. lean — to bend
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. fork — in a road

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