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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. march — the month
  4. tube — the underground
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cold — not warm
  7. march — the month
  8. net — in sport
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. cue — a hint
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — for catching
  13. key — the most important part
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cue — a signal
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. tube — a container
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cold — an illness
  23. key — in music
  24. cue — for pool

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