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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. rest — what's left
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mate — a friend
  6. branch — a division
  7. pit — a hole
  8. hand — help
  9. rest — a break
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. game — wild animals
  18. hand — in cards
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pit — in a race
  23. row — to paddle
  24. mate — to breed

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