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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mate — a partner
  4. swing — music
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. last — final
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. last — finally
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kid — child
  14. pit — a hole
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. rash — a series
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. swing — in golf
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. shower — rain
  22. last — to go on
  23. rash — hasty
  24. pit — in a race

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