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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mate — a partner
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. march — music
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mate — to breed
  12. plane — a tool
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. march — the month
  18. mate — a friend
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. saw — the tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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