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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. date — the fruit
  3. band — a music group
  4. row — a line
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. object — to protest
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. object — a thing
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. object — an aim
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. band — a ring
  19. pitch — completely
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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