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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. file — a line of people
  3. field — for sport
  4. last — to go on
  5. scale — size or range
  6. pop — music
  7. last — final
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. last — finally
  11. mate — to breed
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. file — a document
  14. field — farmland
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. pop — to visit
  17. field — a subject
  18. file — a tool
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rock — music
  21. mate — a friend
  22. rock — a stone
  23. pop — soda
  24. snap — to click

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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