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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  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. cap — a hat
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. rash — a series
  8. march — the month
  9. last — finally
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. last — final
  13. prune — to trim
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. last — to go on
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. pit — a hole
  21. march — the month
  22. cap — a lid
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  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