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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  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 friend
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rule — a law
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. ground — a position
  7. mate — to breed
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fine — high quality
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bat — the animal
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. fine — all right
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. leaves — of a tree
  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