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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. mug — a cup
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mate — a partner
  9. tube — a container
  10. mark — a trace
  11. tube — the underground
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mark — a grade
  14. hand — help
  15. face — part of the head
  16. kid — child
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — to rob
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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