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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cell — a phone
  3. saw — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. march — music
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. march — the month
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. scale — in music
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. season — of the year
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. saw — the tool
  17. scale — size or range
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. march — the month
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cell — in biology
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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