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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  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. mate — to breed
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — to rob
  4. march — the month
  5. swing — to play on
  6. season — in sport
  7. ground — the earth
  8. content — happy
  9. ground — a position
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mug — a face
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. track — a path
  14. mate — a partner
  15. season — of the year
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. swing — music
  18. ground — crushed
  19. march — music
  20. track — to keep track
  21. swing — in golf
  22. content — the amount
  23. track — a song
  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