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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. rash — hasty
  4. mate — a partner
  5. rash — a series
  6. file — a line of people
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bear — the animal
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. file — a document
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. lie — to recline
  15. bear — the animal
  16. degree — temperature
  17. file — a tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kick — in football
  20. degree — from a university
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. toast — bread
  24. kick — with a leg

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