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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. hand — help
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. court — for sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. court — of a king
  15. march — the month
  16. hand — in cards
  17. mate — to breed
  18. court — of law
  19. net — in sport
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. net — for catching
  24. hand — part of the body

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