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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. can — a tin
  3. mate — a partner
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wind — moving air
  6. march — the month
  7. chair — a leader
  8. can — to be able to
  9. march — the month
  10. wind — moving air
  11. craft — boats
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. lie — to recline
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. mate — to breed
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. can — a tin
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. date — the fruit
  24. mate — a friend

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