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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mate — a partner
  4. kick — in football
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. spell — a short time
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mate — to breed
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. march — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. spell — letters
  14. race — the arms race
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mate — a friend
  19. band — a music group
  20. shower — rain
  21. spell — magic
  22. march — the month
  23. band — a ring
  24. race — a contest

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