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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 120 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. shower — rain
  5. mate — to breed
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pass — a permit
  9. wind — moving air
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. shower — to wash
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rash — hasty
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rash — a series
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. pass — to spend time

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