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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. rule — government
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. spell — letters
  11. rule — a law
  12. spell — magic
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mug — a cup
  15. rash — a series
  16. mug — to rob
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mine — for digging
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mug — a face
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. rule — to rule out

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