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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. pit — a hole
  5. rest — a break
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. pit — in a race
  9. mate — a partner
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — an aim
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bound — tied together
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bound — certain
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. object — to protest
  24. bark — to shout

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