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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rash — hasty
  3. march — the month
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. march — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rash — a series
  16. bat — the animal
  17. rock — music
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. march — the month
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rock — a stone
  23. can — to be able to
  24. rock — to move gently

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