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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 116 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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cell — a phone
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mate — a friend
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cell — in biology
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. mate — a partner
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. land — a country
  16. march — the month
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. ball — a great time
  19. land — to come down
  20. fork — in a road
  21. spell — a short time
  22. mate — to breed
  23. land — ground
  24. march — music

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