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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wax — to grow
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. present — a gift
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cap — a lid
  9. present — the time now
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cue — a signal
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cap — a hat
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — to bear
  17. shower — rain
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cue — a hint
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cap — of ice
  22. present — there
  23. chest — a box
  24. cue — for pool

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