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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. deal — to handle
  4. mate — to breed
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. row — to paddle
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. degree — from a university
  11. row — a line
  12. stem — to come from
  13. rule — government
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rule — a law
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. degree — an amount
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. mate — a friend
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rule — to rule out

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