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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. mate — a friend
  4. content — the amount
  5. current — happening now
  6. march — the month
  7. content — happy
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. march — music
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stand — to bear
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ball — a dance
  16. cold — an illness
  17. march — the month
  18. ball — a great time
  19. current — of water
  20. mate — to breed
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cold — not warm
  23. current — electric
  24. cold — the Cold War

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