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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. can — to be able to
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mate — a friend
  7. season — in sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. court — of law
  14. charge — in control
  15. root — of a plant
  16. charge — a price
  17. can — a tin
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bore — to drill
  20. root — the cause
  21. charge — electricity
  22. season — of the year
  23. can — a tin
  24. root — of a word

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