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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pass — a permit
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. mate — a friend
  17. rash — a series
  18. cell — a phone

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