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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. game — a match
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mate — a friend
  12. clip — a video
  13. shower — to wash
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. shower — rain
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wind — moving air
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. mate — a partner
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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