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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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rash — hasty
  4. race — a contest
  5. mate — a friend
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mate — to breed
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. rash — a series
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. race — humankind
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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