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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. court — of a king
  3. pop — music
  4. sharp — clever
  5. track — a path
  6. mate — to breed
  7. shower — to wash
  8. track — a song
  9. mate — a partner
  10. march — the month
  11. court — for sport
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. track — to keep track
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. march — the month
  16. shower — rain
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. pop — soda
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. court — of law
  22. pop — to visit
  23. march — music
  24. sharp — with an edge

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