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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 124 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. drill — army training
  5. march — the month
  6. rock — a stone
  7. saw — the tool
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spring — of water
  11. stock — goods
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. mate — a friend
  14. march — the month
  15. stock — shares
  16. spring — a coil
  17. snap — to click
  18. spring — the season
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rock — music
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. march — music
  24. mate — to breed

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