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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bound — tied together
  3. mate — a partner
  4. kid — child
  5. present — the time now
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. season — of the year
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bound — certain
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bound — obliged
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. season — in sport
  18. present — there
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. wind — moving air
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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