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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. last — to go on
  3. land — to come down
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. land — a country
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. content — the amount
  10. march — music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. march — the month
  13. last — final
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. saw — the tool
  16. last — finally
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. land — ground
  19. content — happy
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. saw — the tool
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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