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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mate — to breed
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. tear — to rip
  10. field — a subject
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. dip — to sink
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. field — farmland
  16. scale — in music
  17. field — for sport
  18. dip — to dunk

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