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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mate — a partner
  4. degree — from a university
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mate — to breed
  8. object — a thing
  9. degree — an amount
  10. object — to protest
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. object — an aim
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mate — a friend

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