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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. ball — a dance
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chair — a leader
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. mate — a partner
  17. ball — a great time
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — completely
  20. mine — for digging
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. degree — temperature

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