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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. chest — of your body
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. stand — to bear
  10. scale — size or range
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. lean — thin
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. rock — music
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rock — a stone
  23. lean — to bend
  24. chest — a box

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