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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mate — a partner
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bank — for money
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mate — to breed
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cold — an illness
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. land — a country
  14. cold — not warm
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. land — ground
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. land — to come down
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. row — a line

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