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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — to go on
  4. mug — to rob
  5. last — final
  6. pitch — completely
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. mug — a face
  9. last — finally
  10. deal — to handle
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. mate — to breed
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mug — a cup
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mate — a friend
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. land — ground
  24. hand — help

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