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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. march — the month
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rush — hurry
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chair — a leader
  9. mate — to breed
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. perch — the fish
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. mate — a friend
  16. toast — bread
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. march — music
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wound — an injury
  22. march — the month
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. perch — for a bird

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