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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mate — a friend
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. game — wild animals
  6. last — final
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — a publisher
  9. march — the month
  10. mate — a partner
  11. last — finally
  12. march — music
  13. game — a match
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mate — to breed
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. last — to go on
  19. press — to push
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. march — the month
  23. row — a line
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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