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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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. mate — a partner
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. kick — in football
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. mate — to breed
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. clip — for paper
  8. row — a line
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. row — to paddle
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. chip — for betting
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. chip — to eat
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. clip — a video
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mate — a friend
  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