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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mug — a face
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mine — for digging
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. ground — crushed
  10. last — to go on
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. season — in sport
  16. ground — the earth
  17. season — of the year
  18. mug — to rob
  19. last — final
  20. game — wild animals
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. mug — a cup
  23. last — finally
  24. ground — a position

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