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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mate — a partner
  4. present — there
  5. cell — in biology
  6. squash — to crush
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mate — to breed
  10. cell — a phone
  11. rule — government
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. hand — help
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mate — a friend
  18. hand — in cards
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. rule — a law
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. squash — the sport

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