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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 120 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mark — a grade
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. field — farmland
  5. kick — in football
  6. hand — help
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mate — to breed
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. field — a subject
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. field — for sport
  17. bass — the fish
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pitch — completely
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bass — low music
  22. hand — in cards
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — exactly

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