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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 116 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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. mate — to breed
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. rush — hurry
  6. mate — a friend
  7. plane — a tool
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bore — to tire
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a song
  13. dip — to sink
  14. track — a path
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. bore — to drill
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. march — the month
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. march — the month
  23. mate — a partner
  24. field — farmland

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