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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mate — a friend
  3. capital — money
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. march — the month
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mate — a partner
  11. spell — magic
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. spell — letters
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. march — the month
  19. capital — a city
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spell — a short time
  22. march — music
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mate — to breed

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