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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. suit — in cards
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. suit — clothes
  5. suit — to fit
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. track — a song
  11. mate — to breed
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bat — the animal
  15. club — for golf
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kid — child
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. track — a path
  22. mate — a partner
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. cold — not warm

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