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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. march — the month
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pound — a weight
  7. fine — high quality
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. pit — in a race
  10. march — the month
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. game — wild animals
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pit — a hole
  18. march — music
  19. row — a line
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. game — a match
  24. pound — for dogs

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