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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. swing — in golf
  3. last — finally
  4. hand — in cards
  5. last — final
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. swing — music
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. foot — a measure
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. mate — to breed
  18. last — to go on
  19. mate — a friend
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. swing — to play on
  23. hand — help
  24. bear — the animal

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