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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. firm — decided
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. firm — steady
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. present — the time now
  12. mine — for digging
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — there
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wound — an injury
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. mate — to breed
  22. net — in sport
  23. firm — a company
  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