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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 120 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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. mate — a friend
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bear — the animal
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. bat — the animal
  9. suit — clothes
  10. game — a match
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. suit — in cards
  17. march — the month
  18. fall — the season
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bear — the animal

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