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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. ground — the earth
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. tube — a container
  6. degree — temperature
  7. tube — the underground
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. mate — to breed
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. ground — crushed
  12. degree — from a university
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ground — a position
  20. degree — an amount
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. mate — a friend
  24. racket — for tennis

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