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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mate — a friend
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. drill — army training
  8. mark — a grade
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mug — a face
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. mug — a cup
  18. bulb — for light
  19. chest — of your body
  20. net — for catching
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mug — to rob
  24. drill — 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