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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rash — hasty
  3. clip — for paper
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. mate — to breed
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. clip — a video
  14. scale — in music
  15. game — a match
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. rash — a series
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. clip — to cut
  20. game — wild animals
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. scale — size or range

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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