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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. last — finally
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. last — final
  9. root — of a word
  10. season — of the year
  11. last — to go on
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. root — the cause
  14. lie — to recline
  15. mark — a trace
  16. foot — a measure
  17. mate — to breed
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. mate — a friend
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pitch — completely
  22. root — of a plant
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — in sport

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