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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · bay · march · ball · snap · tube · leaves · bowl

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. chest — a box
  5. march — the month
  6. ball — a great time
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. tube — a container
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. tube — the underground
  12. march — the month
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. snap — to click
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. chest — of your body
  23. march — music
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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