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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. game — a match
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — money
  9. suit — to fit
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. game — wild animals
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. suit — in cards
  14. stock — shares
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wound — an injury
  18. suit — clothes
  19. stock — goods
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. march — the month
  22. capital — a city
  23. snap — to click
  24. capital — a big letter

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