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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rule — a law
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. field — farmland
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. track — a song
  10. pass — a permit
  11. march — the month
  12. scale — in music
  13. field — for sport
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. march — music
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. track — a path
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. rule — government
  22. scale — size or range
  23. field — a subject
  24. march — the month

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