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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. shower — rain
  4. net — in sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. plane — a tool
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. net — for catching
  11. mate — a partner
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. net — after costs
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. march — the month
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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