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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. mate — a partner
  5. snap — to click
  6. spring — a coil
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. cell — a phone
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. board — to get on
  14. chest — of your body
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — a committee
  19. spring — the season
  20. mate — a friend
  21. cell — in biology
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. spring — of water
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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