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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. march — the month
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. club — for golf
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. last — final
  11. club — a group
  12. content — happy
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. last — to go on
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. fine — all right
  19. club — for dancing
  20. fine — high quality
  21. content — the amount
  22. last — finally
  23. face — to confront
  24. march — the month

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