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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. ground — a position
  3. mark — a grade
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. rest — what's left
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. mark — a trace
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fall — the season
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rest — a break
  24. fall — to drop

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