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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bound — certain
  4. craft — boats
  5. chip — for betting
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bound — obliged
  9. land — ground
  10. present — the time now
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. land — a country
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bound — tied together
  16. face — to confront
  17. mate — to breed
  18. chip — to eat
  19. face — to point toward
  20. present — there
  21. land — to come down
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. face — part of the head
  24. present — a gift

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