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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 sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. rock — a stone
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. mate — a partner
  7. land — ground
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. season — in sport
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mate — a friend
  17. rock — music
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. cold — not warm
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. season — of the year

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