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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mate — a friend
  3. shower — rain
  4. mate — to breed
  5. charge — electricity
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mate — a partner
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rush — hurry
  14. shower — to wash
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. charge — in control
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. charge — a price
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. prune — to trim
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. hand — in cards

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