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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. race — a contest
  5. rest — a break
  6. hand — in cards
  7. mug — a cup
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mug — a face
  10. hand — help
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mate — a friend
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mug — to rob
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. mine — for digging
  24. march — the month

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