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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bass — the fish
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. court — of law
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bass — low music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. court — of a king
  10. field — farmland
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. rest — a break
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. tube — a container
  19. field — for sport
  20. board — a committee
  21. mate — to breed
  22. field — a subject
  23. court — for sport
  24. board — to get on

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