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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 120 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. march — the month
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. land — ground
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. last — finally
  10. mate — a partner
  11. march — the month
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. last — to go on
  15. land — to come down
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. land — a country
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cold — an illness
  23. march — music
  24. last — final

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