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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wound — an injury
  6. hand — help
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. press — to push
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wound — an injury
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. press — a publisher
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. press — newspapers
  22. rush — hurry
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cap — a lid

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