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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. staff — a stick
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. club — for golf
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. club — a group
  7. march — the month
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stock — goods
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. staff — employees
  13. stock — shares
  14. march — the month
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. tube — the underground
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. club — for dancing
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. staff — employees
  23. wake — a trail
  24. tube — a container

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