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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. band — a ring
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. land — to come down
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. chest — a box
  13. squash — to crush
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. band — a music group
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — to breed
  19. chest — of your body
  20. pop — soda
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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