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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. chest — of your body
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tube — a container
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. tube — the underground
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pit — in a race
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. mate — a partner
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. mine — for digging
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pit — a hole
  23. chest — a box
  24. mate — to breed

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