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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. swing — in golf
  9. game — a match
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. mate — to breed
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. swing — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. mate — a friend
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. toast — bread
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wax — to grow
  23. swing — to play on
  24. leaves — of a tree

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