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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bound — tied together
  3. march — music
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. march — the month
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mug — a face
  8. wake — a trail
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bound — certain
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. mate — to breed
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. march — the month
  20. bound — obliged
  21. game — wild animals
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. dip — a sauce

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