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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rush — hurry
  3. cell — in biology
  4. mate — a friend
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bound — certain
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. foot — a measure
  16. bound — obliged
  17. mate — to breed
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. degree — temperature
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bound — tied together
  24. foot — part of the body

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