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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cap — of ice
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wake — a trail
  6. mate — to breed
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cell — a phone
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cap — a hat
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cap — a lid
  20. shower — rain
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bat — in an idiom

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