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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mate — a friend
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mark — a trace
  9. stock — shares
  10. band — a music group
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. clip — a video
  13. stock — goods
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mark — a grade
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mate — to breed
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. band — a ring
  24. clip — for paper

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