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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. pitch — completely
  6. file — a line of people
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. tear — from crying
  10. vault — a safe
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mate — a friend
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. pound — a weight
  17. mate — to breed
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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