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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mate — to breed
  3. present — a gift
  4. staff — employees
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. hand — in cards
  7. staff — a stick
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. mate — a friend
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. staff — employees
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. mate — a partner
  19. date — the fruit
  20. present — the time now
  21. chair — a leader
  22. present — there
  23. kid — child
  24. date — on the calendar

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