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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wound — an injury
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. tear — to rip
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rash — a series
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cell — a phone
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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