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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. fine — all right
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. mate — to breed
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chest — a box
  13. dip — to sink
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. chest — of your body
  17. saw — the tool
  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