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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. row — a line
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. band — a ring
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. mate — a friend
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. mate — a partner
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. band — a music group
  21. chair — a leader
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. row — to paddle
  24. kick — in football

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