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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. file — a tool
  3. spell — letters
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pop — music
  7. capital — a city
  8. file — a line of people
  9. march — music
  10. mate — a partner
  11. scale — size or range
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. capital — money
  15. scale — in music
  16. pop — soda
  17. march — the month
  18. mate — to breed
  19. spell — a short time
  20. pop — to visit
  21. stock — goods
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. file — a document
  24. march — the month

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