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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mug — a face
  3. net — for catching
  4. stem — to come from
  5. charge — electricity
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mug — a cup
  8. ground — crushed
  9. chest — of your body
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. net — in sport
  12. charge — a price
  13. mate — to breed
  14. chest — a box
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mug — to rob
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. mate — a friend
  19. net — after costs
  20. chest — of your body
  21. charge — in control
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. ground — a position

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