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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bear — the animal
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bear — the animal
  9. last — final
  10. march — the month
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a face
  20. march — the month
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bat — the animal
  23. last — finally
  24. leaves — to go away

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