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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 water is too ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. prune — to trim
  4. club — a group
  5. prune — to trim
  6. game — wild animals
  7. march — the month
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. club — for golf
  12. foot — a measure
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. game — a match
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cold — an illness
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cold — the Cold War

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