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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. snap — to click
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. mate — to breed
  5. swing — to play on
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cell — a phone
  8. swing — music
  9. ground — crushed
  10. swing — in golf
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mate — a friend
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. ground — a position
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. ground — the earth
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bowl — a dish

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