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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. march — music
  3. pitch — completely
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. clip — to cut
  8. shower — rain
  9. clip — for paper
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. mate — to breed
  12. march — the month
  13. hand — in cards
  14. march — the month
  15. mate — a partner
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. clip — a video
  19. shower — to wash
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. hand — help
  24. pitch — a sports field

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