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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. march — music
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. file — a tool
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. file — a line of people
  7. tube — the underground
  8. craft — a skill
  9. march — the month
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tube — a container
  13. march — the month
  14. ball — a great time
  15. craft — boats
  16. ball — a dance
  17. drill — the tool
  18. club — for dancing
  19. land — ground
  20. drill — army training
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. club — for golf
  24. file — a document

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