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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. last — final
  3. march — the month
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. key — the most important part
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. band — a ring
  8. foot — a measure
  9. fall — to drop
  10. last — finally
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. march — music
  13. key — in music
  14. stock — goods
  15. key — for a lock
  16. last — to go on
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. stock — shares
  19. fall — to drop
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. march — the month
  22. fall — the season
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. band — a music group

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