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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. ground — the earth
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. mate — a partner
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. file — a line of people
  7. march — the month
  8. current — of water
  9. mate — to breed
  10. net — for catching
  11. ground — a position
  12. mate — a friend
  13. march — the month
  14. net — in sport
  15. current — electric
  16. current — happening now
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. ground — crushed
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. file — a tool
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. file — a document
  23. net — after costs
  24. lash — an eyelash

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