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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. march — music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wax — to grow
  8. sharp — clever
  9. spell — letters
  10. march — the month
  11. spell — a short time
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. spell — magic
  17. toast — bread
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. march — the month
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. tear — to rip
  23. scale — in music
  24. toast — the most admired

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