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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. press — to push
  6. lie — to recline
  7. cold — not warm
  8. clip — a video
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mug — a face
  11. clip — for paper
  12. mug — a cup
  13. press — newspapers
  14. mate — a friend
  15. date — the fruit
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mate — a partner
  18. march — music
  19. press — a publisher
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mate — to breed
  23. clip — to cut
  24. date — on the calendar

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