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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. season — of the year
  6. bank — of a river
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bank — for money
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. season — in sport
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rest — a break
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mate — a friend
  20. bank — for money
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rest — what's left
  24. racket — for tennis

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