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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mate — a friend
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. mate — to breed
  10. field — a subject
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — to visit
  15. perch — the fish
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pop — music
  18. field — for sport
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. date — the fruit
  23. field — farmland
  24. chair — a leader

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