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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. drill — army training
  3. swing — in golf
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mate — a friend
  7. capital — money
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mate — to breed
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. march — the month
  17. net — after costs
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. swing — music
  20. tear — to rip
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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