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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. last — to go on
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. court — for sport
  8. march — the month
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. track — a path
  11. court — of a king
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. last — finally
  14. court — of law
  15. track — a song
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. root — of a word
  19. root — the cause
  20. saw — the tool
  21. root — of a plant
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. track — to keep track
  24. last — final

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