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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chip — to eat
  3. chest — of your body
  4. court — for sport
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. court — of a king
  7. pop — soda
  8. chest — a box
  9. march — the month
  10. chest — of your body
  11. court — of law
  12. pop — to visit
  13. last — to go on
  14. rash — a series
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — for betting
  17. last — final
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. last — finally
  20. march — music
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. march — the month
  23. pop — music
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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