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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. board — a committee
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spell — magic
  5. fall — to drop
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. spell — letters
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. march — the month
  10. board — to get on
  11. pop — music
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pop — to visit
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. game — a match
  16. fall — the season
  17. pop — soda
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. march — the month
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. game — wild animals

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