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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mark — a grade
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mark — a trace
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — moving air
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. cold — an illness
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bowl — to roll

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