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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. capital — money
  7. date — the fruit
  8. kid — to tease
  9. board — a committee
  10. capital — a city
  11. wax — to grow
  12. kid — child
  13. field — farmland
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. board — to get on
  18. field — for sport
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. march — the month
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. field — a subject
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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