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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. ball — a great time
  6. pop — soda
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. ball — a dance
  10. roll — a list
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. march — music
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pop — to visit
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. rash — hasty
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. rash — a series
  21. pop — music
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. kid — child
  24. roll — a cake

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