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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pound — a weight
  3. club — for dancing
  4. file — a document
  5. mate — to breed
  6. club — a group
  7. rush — hurry
  8. mate — a friend
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. file — a tool
  17. club — for golf
  18. file — a line of people

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