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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. club — for dancing
  3. spell — magic
  4. last — final
  5. club — a group
  6. mark — a trace
  7. club — for golf
  8. key — the most important part
  9. spell — a short time
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. spell — letters
  13. band — a ring
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. march — the month
  16. last — finally
  17. band — a music group
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. last — to go on
  22. march — the month
  23. mark — a grade
  24. leaves — to go away

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