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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ball — a great time
  5. file — a line of people
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. file — a document
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. file — a tool
  19. mate — a friend
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. scale — in music
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. ball — a dance
  24. wave — of the sea

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