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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. mate — to breed
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. board — to get on
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. spring — of water
  10. mate — a partner
  11. march — music
  12. spring — the season
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. mate — a friend
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. board — a committee
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. dip — to sink
  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