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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. march — music
  3. object — an aim
  4. mate — a partner
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. object — a thing
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wound — an injury
  13. land — to come down
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. mate — to breed
  17. land — a country
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. object — to protest
  21. land — ground
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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