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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mate — to breed
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. march — the month
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. march — music
  13. mate — a friend
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. march — the month
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. race — a contest
  22. tube — a container
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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