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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. hand — help
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. mate — to breed
  5. spell — magic
  6. can — to be able to
  7. pass — a permit
  8. can — a tin
  9. court — for sport
  10. spell — letters
  11. court — of a king
  12. fine — all right
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. court — of law
  15. spell — a short time
  16. hand — in cards
  17. can — a tin
  18. march — the month
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. mate — a friend
  21. fine — high quality
  22. march — music
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. march — the month

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