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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. march — the month
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. game — wild animals
  4. march — the month
  5. game — a match
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bound — certain
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. hand — help
  10. bat — the animal
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. field — farmland
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bound — tied together
  23. march — 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