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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. season — in sport
  9. scale — size or range
  10. season — of the year
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. shower — rain
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rush — hurry
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. scale — in music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rush — to hurry

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