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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mate — a friend
  3. march — the month
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. march — the month
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. game — wild animals
  9. content — the amount
  10. game — a match
  11. mate — a partner
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. object — to protest
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a trace
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — a thing
  19. mine — for digging
  20. march — music
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mark — a grade

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