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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: press · rock · safe · scale · sharp · row · march · date

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. press — to push
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. row — to paddle
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. date — the fruit
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. sharp — clever
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. scale — size or range
  14. press — newspapers
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. press — a publisher
  19. rock — a stone
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — in music
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. row — a line
  24. scale — for weighing

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