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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 120 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. mate — a friend
  5. spring — a coil
  6. present — there
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. staff — employees
  9. face — to confront
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mate — to breed
  13. pound — a weight
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. present — a gift
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — part of the head
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. present — the time now
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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