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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. current — electric
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. current — of water
  8. can — a tin
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. game — a match
  11. current — happening now
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. can — a tin
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mate — to breed
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. can — to be able to
  24. nail — on a finger

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