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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. land — ground
  4. mate — to breed
  5. land — a country
  6. cell — in biology
  7. present — the time now
  8. mate — a partner
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. present — a gift
  12. can — a tin
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. pit — in a race
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. band — a ring
  18. cell — a phone
  19. band — a music group
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pit — a hole
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mate — a friend
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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