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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  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. pop — soda
  2. mate — a partner
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. mate — a friend
  6. march — music
  7. chair — a leader
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. fall — to drop
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. march — the month
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pop — to visit
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. foot — a measure
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. mark — a grade
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. pop — music
  22. fall — the season
  23. hide — animal skin
  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