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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. craft — a skill
  3. chest — of your body
  4. kid — child
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. chest — a box
  7. mate — a partner
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mate — to breed
  11. sharp — clever
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chest — of your body
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. lean — thin
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. cell — in biology
  20. craft — boats
  21. lean — to bend
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. season — of the year
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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