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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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. mate — to breed
  4. march — the month
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mate — a friend
  7. craft — a skill
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. craft — boats
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kid — to tease
  14. dip — to sink
  15. kid — child
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. cold — an illness
  20. march — music
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mouse — the animal

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