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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mate — a friend
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rest — a break
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mate — to breed
  9. perch — the fish
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. rest — what's left
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. court — of a king
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. sharp — clever
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. mug — to rob
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — for sport
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. court — of law
  24. calf — of the leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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