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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. press — newspapers
  10. press — a publisher
  11. spell — letters
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. mate — a partner
  18. march — the month
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. cold — not warm
  22. march — the month
  23. press — to push
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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