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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. march — music
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. present — there
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mate — to breed
  12. present — the time now
  13. cue — a hint
  14. fall — the season
  15. present — a gift
  16. mate — a friend
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fall — to drop
  19. march — the month
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cue — for pool

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