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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rule — a law
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mate — a friend
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. lean — thin
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chest — a box
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rule — government
  19. game — a match
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. lean — to bend
  24. chest — of your body

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