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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bass — the fish
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. season — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. rule — a law
  13. mate — to breed
  14. rule — government
  15. mate — a friend
  16. net — in sport
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bass — low music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. season — of the year
  21. net — after costs
  22. drill — army training
  23. bore — to drill
  24. drill — a practice

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