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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. club — for golf
  3. lie — to recline
  4. mate — a friend
  5. clip — to cut
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cell — a phone
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. club — a group
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. branch — a division
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mate — a partner
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. clip — a video
  20. club — for dancing
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. clip — for paper

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