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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. hand — in cards
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. pitch — completely
  11. squash — to crush
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. hand — help
  17. last — to go on
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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