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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. board — a committee
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mate — to breed
  10. saw — the tool
  11. kid — child
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mate — a partner
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rest — a break
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. board — to get on
  21. rest — what's left
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. saw — the tool

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