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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. march — the month
  3. scale — in music
  4. row — a line
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mark — a trace
  7. scale — size or range
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. track — a song
  10. chip — to eat
  11. track — to keep track
  12. spring — of water
  13. march — the month
  14. row — to paddle
  15. band — a music group
  16. spring — the season
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. mark — a grade
  19. march — music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. band — a ring
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. chip — for betting
  24. track — a path

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