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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. mate — a partner
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rule — government
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. field — farmland
  13. rule — a law
  14. mate — a friend
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. date — the fruit
  18. mine — for digging
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. field — for sport
  22. last — finally
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. field — a subject

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