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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. spell — letters
  4. spell — magic
  5. march — the month
  6. mate — a friend
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mate — a partner
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. bear — the animal
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spell — a short time
  24. stock — a soup base

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