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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. kid — to tease
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stand — to bear
  9. mate — to breed
  10. vault — a safe
  11. march — the month
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. march — the month
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — music
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. bark — to shout
  21. mate — a friend
  22. kid — child
  23. cell — in biology
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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