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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bat — the animal
  5. last — final
  6. mate — to breed
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mate — a friend
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. swing — to play on
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. band — a ring
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. last — to go on
  20. band — a music group
  21. sharp — clever
  22. last — finally
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. swing — music

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