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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. face — to point toward
  3. club — for dancing
  4. capital — a city
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. capital — money
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. march — music
  11. cue — a hint
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cue — for pool
  17. kid — to tease
  18. club — for golf
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. club — a group
  21. face — to confront
  22. cue — a signal
  23. face — part of the head
  24. kid — child

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