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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. fine — all right
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bound — tied together
  12. clip — a video
  13. bound — obliged
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bound — certain
  16. mate — to breed
  17. last — final
  18. wind — moving air
  19. last — to go on
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. last — finally
  23. mate — a friend
  24. fine — high quality

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