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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. row — a line
  4. march — the month
  5. court — of a king
  6. bear — the animal
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. march — the month
  13. court — for sport
  14. march — music
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. fork — in a road
  18. court — of law
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. mate — a partner
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bear — the animal

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