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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. can — to be able to
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mine — for digging
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. pound — a weight
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mate — a friend
  10. lean — thin
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mate — a partner
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. rash — a series
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. snap — to click
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. mine — an explosive

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