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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. pound — a weight
  7. mate — a partner
  8. rule — a law
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. rule — government
  16. mate — to breed
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. chair — a leader
  22. land — ground
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rule — to rule out

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