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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. staff — employees
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bound — obliged
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mate — a partner
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — in a race
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rule — government
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. staff — employees
  20. bound — tied together
  21. staff — a stick
  22. rule — a law
  23. bound — certain
  24. cold — an illness

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