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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. court — of law
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. club — for golf
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cap — a hat
  10. court — for sport
  11. club — a group
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. chest — of your body
  18. court — of a king
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. club — for dancing

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