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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cell — in biology
  5. land — ground
  6. bear — the animal
  7. club — for dancing
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bass — low music
  10. land — to come down
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mate — to breed
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bear — the animal
  16. shower — rain
  17. club — for golf
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. land — a country
  21. bass — the fish
  22. club — a group
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. mate — a friend

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