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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. chest — of your body
  3. club — for golf
  4. mate — a partner
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. chest — of your body
  8. land — ground
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bark — to shout
  11. sharp — clever
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. land — to come down
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. club — a group
  17. root — of a word
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. chest — a box
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. root — of a plant
  22. land — a country
  23. root — the cause
  24. club — for dancing

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