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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. deal — to handle
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ball — a dance
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. chair — a leader
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. tear — to rip
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. mate — a friend
  17. ball — a great time
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. tear — from crying
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bat — in an idiom

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