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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. court — for sport
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. can — a tin
  5. mug — a face
  6. court — of a king
  7. march — music
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mug — a cup
  10. march — the month
  11. can — to be able to
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. deal — to handle
  15. can — a tin
  16. bark — to shout
  17. last — finally
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. court — of law
  20. mark — a grade
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. mark — a trace
  23. march — the month
  24. last — final

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