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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. degree — an amount
  3. present — the time now
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. saw — the tool
  10. stem — to come from
  11. present — a gift
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. degree — from a university
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. present — there

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