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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. rule — a law
  3. mate — to breed
  4. stand — to bear
  5. chip — to eat
  6. rule — government
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bass — low music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. net — in sport
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. net — for catching
  14. wound — an injury
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. net — after costs
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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