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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. net — after costs
  3. mate — to breed
  4. face — part of the head
  5. chair — a leader
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bound — certain
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. scale — in music
  11. mate — a partner
  12. tear — from crying
  13. net — in sport
  14. tear — to rip
  15. face — to point toward
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. tear — from crying
  18. net — for catching
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — obliged
  23. saw — the tool
  24. face — to confront

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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