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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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 partner
  2. swing — in golf
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. face — to point toward
  5. kid — child
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mate — a friend
  10. face — part of the head
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rule — government
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. face — to confront
  15. plane — a tool
  16. rule — a law
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. row — a line
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. swing — music
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. row — to paddle
  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