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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. march — the month
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. mate — to breed
  8. spring — of water
  9. pop — to visit
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. pop — soda
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rash — hasty
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. spring — the season
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pop — music
  22. rash — a series
  23. net — after costs
  24. rash — on the skin

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