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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. drill — a practice
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. drill — the tool
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mate — a partner
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tube — a container
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. kid — child
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. chest — a box
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. scale — in music
  21. kid — to tease
  22. drill — army training
  23. tube — the underground
  24. scale — for weighing

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