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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cell — in biology
  4. hand — in cards
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. hand — help
  7. toast — bread
  8. mate — to breed
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. march — music
  11. bound — tied together
  12. foot — a measure
  13. march — the month
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bound — certain
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mate — a friend
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. march — the month
  21. bound — obliged
  22. lean — thin
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. cell — a phone

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