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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mug — a face
  4. mate — a friend
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mug — a cup
  7. season — in sport
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. season — of the year
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. mug — to rob
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. hand — help
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. file — a line of people
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. hand — in cards
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mine — for digging

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