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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. mate — a friend
  4. field — farmland
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pound — a weight
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cue — for pool
  11. cue — a hint
  12. tear — to rip
  13. field — for sport
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — a subject
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. mate — to breed
  22. cue — a signal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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