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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. band — a music group
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. staff — employees
  5. march — the month
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. content — happy
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. march — music
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a friend
  13. pitch — completely
  14. content — the amount
  15. cap — a lid
  16. band — a ring
  17. staff — employees
  18. cap — a hat
  19. staff — a stick
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cap — of ice
  22. march — the month
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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