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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. club — a group
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a face
  7. scale — size or range
  8. chest — a box
  9. ball — a dance
  10. march — music
  11. club — for dancing
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ball — a great time
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. club — for golf
  18. saw — the tool
  19. march — the month
  20. saw — the tool
  21. last — final
  22. mug — a cup
  23. scale — in music
  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