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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mark — a grade
  3. drill — a practice
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bound — obliged
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bound — certain
  12. last — finally
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bank — of a river
  16. drill — army training
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. last — to go on
  19. mark — a trace
  20. last — final
  21. sharp — clever
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bound — tied together
  24. stem — a stem cell

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