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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 120 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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. mate — a friend
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mate — a partner
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. mate — to breed
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mine — for digging
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rush — hurry
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. shower — rain
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. track — a song
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. pitch — completely
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. track — to keep track

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