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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mate — to breed
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mate — a friend
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. mate — a partner
  14. toast — bread
  15. march — music
  16. wake — a trail
  17. march — the month
  18. mark — a grade
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cold — not warm
  21. march — the month
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. mine — for digging

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