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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. fall — to drop
  3. charge — electricity
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. pop — music
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. march — the month
  11. wake — a trail
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fall — the season
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fall — to drop
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. charge — a price
  20. scale — in music
  21. pop — to visit
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. charge — in control

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