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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. spring — the season
  4. mate — to breed
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — government
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. mug — a cup
  11. stand — to bear
  12. mug — to rob
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spring — a coil
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mate — a friend
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. spring — of water
  23. mug — a face
  24. patient — a sick person

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