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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. tube — a container
  3. fork — in a road
  4. march — music
  5. bound — obliged
  6. mate — to breed
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bound — certain
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. band — a music group
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bound — tied together
  16. last — to go on
  17. mate — a partner
  18. lie — to recline
  19. last — final
  20. mate — a friend
  21. march — the month
  22. last — finally
  23. tube — the underground
  24. fork — a garden tool

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