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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. mate — a partner
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. march — music
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. track — a path
  8. mate — to breed
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. march — the month
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. mate — a friend
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. march — the month
  23. plane — a tool
  24. clip — to cut

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