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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wound — an injury
  4. march — the month
  5. rest — what's left
  6. swing — to play on
  7. mate — a friend
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mate — a partner
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. rule — a law
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wound — an injury
  14. swing — in golf
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rest — a break
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. mate — to breed
  23. swing — music
  24. march — music

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