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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. season — in sport
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. race — the arms race
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. chip — for betting
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cell — a phone
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mate — to breed
  17. plane — a tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. race — a contest
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. mate — a friend
  23. race — humankind
  24. chip — to eat

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