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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. court — for sport
  3. land — to come down
  4. last — finally
  5. mate — a partner
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. firm — steady
  8. land — a country
  9. scale — in music
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. march — the month
  14. court — of a king
  15. firm — decided
  16. march — the month
  17. last — final
  18. court — of law
  19. land — ground
  20. scale — size or range
  21. march — music
  22. mate — a friend
  23. firm — a company
  24. last — to go on

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