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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 116 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pop — music
  3. hand — help
  4. wake — a trail
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pop — to visit
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mate — to breed
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mate — a friend
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pop — soda
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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