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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. chest — a box
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bore — to tire
  10. stock — shares
  11. file — a document
  12. bore — to drill
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stock — goods
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. file — a tool
  22. mate — to breed
  23. chest — of your body
  24. file — a line of people

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