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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mate — a friend
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wound — an injury
  6. land — ground
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. mate — to breed
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. spell — letters
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. spell — magic
  21. bat — the animal
  22. land — a country
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. land — to come down

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