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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. hand — help
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. mate — a partner
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. mate — a friend
  9. rash — a series
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wake — a trail
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kid — to tease
  14. hand — in cards
  15. shower — rain
  16. rash — hasty
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. swing — to play on
  24. kid — child

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