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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rash — a series
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. rash — hasty
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fall — the season
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — in biology
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. march — the month
  23. fall — to drop
  24. nail — on a finger

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