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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rule — government
  3. mate — a friend
  4. game — wild animals
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. mate — to breed
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. kick — in football
  10. wake — a trail
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. rule — a law
  19. scale — size or range
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. scale — in music
  23. game — a match
  24. kick — a thrill

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