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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 124 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. march — the month
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. scale — in music
  6. spring — the season
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. march — music
  11. kick — in football
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. squash — to crush
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mate — to breed
  17. pass — a permit
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. scale — size or range
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. kick — with a leg
  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