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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. kick — in football
  3. kid — child
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. wound — an injury
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mate — to breed
  12. stem — to come from
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. kid — to tease
  16. lie — to recline
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. date — the fruit
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mate — a partner
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. stem — of a plant
  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