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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bear — the animal
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bear — the animal
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. key — for a lock
  13. march — music
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. key — in music
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. march — the month

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