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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. march — the month
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. court — of a king
  5. file — a tool
  6. drill — a practice
  7. march — the month
  8. shower — to wash
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. can — a tin
  11. mate — to breed
  12. shower — rain
  13. file — a line of people
  14. court — of law
  15. mate — a partner
  16. can — to be able to
  17. file — a document
  18. drill — the tool
  19. can — a tin
  20. march — music
  21. kid — to tease
  22. court — for sport
  23. drill — army training
  24. kid — child

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