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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. object — a thing
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. mate — to breed
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. mine — for digging
  11. object — to protest
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. object — an aim
  14. degree — temperature
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. lean — thin
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. lean — to bend
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. mate — a partner

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