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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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. band — a rubber band
  4. spring — the season
  5. shower — to wash
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. mate — to breed
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. march — the month
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. spring — a coil
  12. mate — a partner
  13. shower — rain
  14. net — after costs
  15. spring — of water
  16. net — for catching
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. net — in sport
  20. deal — to handle
  21. band — a ring
  22. march — the month
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. band — a music group

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