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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bulb — for light
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. board — a committee
  9. bulb — for light
  10. mate — a friend
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. board — to get on
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. track — a path
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cold — an illness
  21. snap — to click
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. board — a flat piece

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