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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. scale — in music
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. last — to go on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — finally
  9. deal — to handle
  10. last — final
  11. field — a subject
  12. wind — moving air
  13. march — the month
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. field — farmland
  17. scale — size or range
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. march — music
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. field — for sport

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