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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. snap — to click
  4. net — in sport
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. net — for catching
  8. club — for dancing
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mate — a partner
  12. club — a group
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. season — of the year
  15. club — for golf
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. season — in sport
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. net — after costs
  24. mate — to breed

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