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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. content — the amount
  10. mark — a grade
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. chair — a leader
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. rush — hurry
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. cold — an illness
  20. content — happy
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. mark — a trace
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. pass — a permit

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