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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. march — the month
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. present — there
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mark — a trace
  7. drill — army training
  8. fall — to drop
  9. hand — help
  10. chest — of your body
  11. drill — a practice
  12. fall — the season
  13. chest — of your body
  14. march — the month
  15. present — a gift
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. hand — in cards
  21. march — music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. drill — the tool
  24. present — the time now

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