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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. mate — a friend
  6. march — music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bark — to shout
  13. kid — child
  14. scale — in music
  15. spring — a coil
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. march — the month
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mate — a partner
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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