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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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. lean — to bend
  4. chest — a box
  5. march — the month
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bass — low music
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. chest — of your body
  11. net — in sport
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — after costs
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. net — for catching
  20. lean — thin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bass — the fish
  23. chest — of your body
  24. hide — to keep secret

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