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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cell — in biology
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — to be able to
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bore — to drill
  10. mate — to breed
  11. game — wild animals
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. game — a match
  14. can — a tin
  15. mate — a partner
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bore — to tire
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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