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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 116 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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. mate — a friend
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mate — a partner
  7. march — music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mine — for digging
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. march — the month
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. tear — from crying
  18. scale — in music

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