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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mate — a partner
  5. row — a line
  6. last — finally
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bound — obliged
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. drill — the tool
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bound — tied together
  13. last — final
  14. drill — army training
  15. last — to go on
  16. fine — high quality
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. drill — a practice
  19. fine — all right
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bound — certain
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bat — in an idiom

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