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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. mate — a partner
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mate — a friend
  7. drill — army training
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. rule — government
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bat — the animal
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. saw — the tool
  20. season — of the year
  21. wake — a trail
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rule — a law

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