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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cap — a lid
  3. object — an aim
  4. shower — rain
  5. rest — what's left
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. object — to protest
  9. cap — a hat
  10. rest — a break
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bass — low music
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — a tool
  16. object — a thing
  17. mate — a friend
  18. rest — what's left
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mate — to breed
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. sharp — clever
  24. bass — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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