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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. mate — a partner
  3. foot — a measure
  4. mate — a friend
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. pop — to visit
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. spring — of water
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. suit — to fit
  13. suit — clothes
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mate — to breed
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. spring — the season
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — music

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