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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. mate — a friend
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. lie — to recline
  5. mate — a partner
  6. present — a gift
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rock — music
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. swing — to play on
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. swing — in golf
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. swing — music
  16. present — there
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. present — the time now
  19. rock — a stone
  20. wind — moving air
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mate — to breed
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rock — to move gently

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