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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. file — a line of people
  3. snap — to click
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. drill — a practice
  6. net — after costs
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. mate — a friend
  9. net — for catching
  10. court — for sport
  11. drill — army training
  12. mate — a partner
  13. drill — the tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. court — of law
  16. net — in sport
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. file — a document
  20. stand — to bear
  21. court — of a king
  22. file — a tool
  23. march — the month
  24. mate — to breed

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