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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. tube — a container
  5. rule — a law
  6. swing — in golf
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. object — to protest
  9. swing — music
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. swing — to play on
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. object — a thing
  19. snap — to click
  20. object — an aim
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. rule — government

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