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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cell — in biology
  4. press — newspapers
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. kid — child
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. fork — in a road
  13. march — music
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bound — certain
  16. mate — to breed
  17. press — a publisher
  18. mate — a friend
  19. march — the month
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — obliged
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. press — to push

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