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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bat — the animal
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bulb — for light
  6. scale — in music
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bore — to drill
  10. face — to confront
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. march — the month
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. face — to point toward
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bore — to tire
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bat — for baseball

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