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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cold — an illness
  3. net — after costs
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. craft — a skill
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. craft — boats
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. band — a ring
  18. net — for catching
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. net — in sport
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. vault — a safe

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