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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. mate — a partner
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mate — a friend
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a face
  10. rash — a series
  11. mug — a cup
  12. spring — a coil
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mate — to breed
  17. spring — of water
  18. rash — hasty
  19. spring — the season
  20. perch — the fish
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wound — an injury

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