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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stock — goods
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. stock — shares
  12. march — the month
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. foot — a measure
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. kid — to tease
  21. march — the month
  22. prune — to trim
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — help

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