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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. shower — rain
  4. ground — a position
  5. track — a song
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. shower — to wash
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. ground — the earth
  10. march — the month
  11. track — a path
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mate — a partner
  14. march — music
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. ground — crushed
  18. dip — to sink
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. track — to keep track
  23. march — the month
  24. mate — to breed

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