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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · tear · nail · can · spell · mate · court · fan

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. spell — a short time
  4. court — for sport
  5. tear — from crying
  6. can — to be able to
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. spell — letters
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. court — of a king
  17. spell — magic
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. mate — a partner
  20. tear — to rip
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. court — of law
  24. march — the month

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