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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. press — a publisher
  4. press — to push
  5. mate — to breed
  6. shower — to wash
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. march — the month
  9. press — newspapers
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. march — the month
  13. mate — a friend
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mate — a partner
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kid — to tease
  19. clip — a video
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — a permit
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — hasty
  24. kid — child

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