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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — rain
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bound — obliged
  5. mug — a cup
  6. field — a subject
  7. march — the month
  8. shower — to wash
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mug — a face
  11. mate — a partner
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bound — certain
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bound — tied together
  20. field — for sport
  21. mug — to rob
  22. mate — to breed
  23. march — music
  24. field — farmland

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