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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. cue — for pool
  4. mate — a friend
  5. march — the month
  6. cue — a hint
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. march — music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. shower — rain
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wind — moving air
  14. shower — to wash
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. march — the month
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mate — a partner
  19. track — to keep track
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cue — a signal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. chest — a box

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