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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 116 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. present — the time now
  3. board — a committee
  4. bank — for money
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bank — for money
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bat — the animal
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — there
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. board — to get on
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mug — a cup
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mug — to rob
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. mug — a face
  21. mate — a friend
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bank — of a river

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