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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. clip — for paper
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. season — of the year
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. race — a contest
  10. wax — to grow
  11. clip — to cut
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mate — to breed
  14. chip — to eat
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. season — in sport
  19. race — humankind
  20. hand — help
  21. mate — a friend
  22. clip — a video
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wax — in the ear

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