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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pop — to visit
  8. club — a group
  9. sharp — clever
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — for dancing
  12. march — the month
  13. hand — help
  14. pop — music
  15. rash — hasty
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. chest — a box
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. march — the month
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — to bear
  23. pop — soda
  24. sharp — with an edge

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