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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cell — in biology
  4. fall — the season
  5. board — a committee
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cell — a phone
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mate — to breed
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wax — to grow
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. mate — a friend
  20. row — a line
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. board — to get on
  24. fall — to drop

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