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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. field — for sport
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. last — final
  7. prune — to trim
  8. game — wild animals
  9. staff — a stick
  10. field — farmland
  11. prune — to trim
  12. last — to go on
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. staff — employees
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mate — to breed
  20. field — a subject
  21. last — finally
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. staff — employees
  24. game — a match

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