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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mate — a friend
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. mate — to breed
  5. face — to point toward
  6. mate — a partner
  7. march — the month
  8. shower — to wash
  9. march — the month
  10. face — to confront
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. march — music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pop — music
  20. saw — the tool
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. chest — a box
  23. sharp — clever
  24. shower — rain

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