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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 116 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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. hide — to keep secret
  4. face — to confront
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. cold — an illness
  8. deal — to handle
  9. face — to point toward
  10. clip — a video
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. clip — for paper
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. mate — to breed
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bowl — a football final

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