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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. board — a committee
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. mate — to breed
  6. present — there
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. degree — from a university
  9. scale — size or range
  10. mate — a friend
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. present — a gift
  15. degree — an amount
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. stand — to bear
  19. board — to get on
  20. kid — child
  21. scale — in music
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. present — the time now
  24. degree — temperature

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