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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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 friend
  2. net — for catching
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — a hole
  5. net — in sport
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. row — a line
  10. kid — to tease
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. net — after costs
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pit — in a race
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. mate — to breed
  20. row — to paddle
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. rash — hasty
  23. kid — child
  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