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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mate — to breed
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lean — thin
  7. tear — to rip
  8. band — a music group
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mate — a friend
  18. land — to come down
  19. lean — to bend
  20. stem — to come from
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. band — a ring
  23. game — a match
  24. nail — for a hammer

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