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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 116 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — moving air
  4. row — a line
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. drill — a practice
  8. march — music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. row — to paddle
  12. can — a tin
  13. cue — a hint
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. drill — the tool
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. march — the month
  21. drill — army training
  22. cue — a signal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cue — for pool

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