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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. race — the arms race
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. cold — not warm
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. race — humankind
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. hand — help
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — rain
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. race — a contest

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