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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. mate — a partner
  3. hand — in cards
  4. march — the month
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. march — the month
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mate — to breed
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rule — a law
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. mate — a friend
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. hand — help
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bass — low music
  21. march — music
  22. file — a line of people
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. rule — government

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