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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 116 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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cell — a phone
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mate — to breed
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mate — a friend
  16. ground — crushed
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. fall — the season
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. hand — part of the body

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