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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rock — music
  3. march — music
  4. season — of the year
  5. mug — a cup
  6. season — in sport
  7. march — the month
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. mate — a friend
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mug — a face
  16. mate — to breed
  17. march — the month
  18. rock — a stone
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mug — to rob
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. content — videos and posts

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