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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. present — a gift
  5. mate — a partner
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mate — to breed
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. present — the time now
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. deal — to handle
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. game — a match
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mate — a friend
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. game — wild animals
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wound — an injury

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