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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. face — part of the head
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rock — music
  8. rash — a series
  9. face — to confront
  10. kick — in football
  11. branch — a division
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rock — a stone
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bat — the animal
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. shower — to wash
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. mate — a friend
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. mate — to breed
  24. kick — a thrill

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