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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mate — to breed
  3. present — a gift
  4. wake — a trail
  5. present — there
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. race — humankind
  9. cap — a lid
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. mate — a partner
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. spring — the season
  16. rule — government
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. rule — a law
  19. cap — of ice
  20. race — the arms race
  21. present — the time now
  22. cap — a hat
  23. kid — to tease
  24. race — a contest

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