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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 120 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. mate — to breed
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. last — final
  11. mate — a friend
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. tube — the underground
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. rule — a law
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rule — government
  24. tube — a container

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