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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. net — for catching
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. shower — rain
  9. saw — the tool
  10. shower — to wash
  11. present — there
  12. saw — the tool
  13. present — the time now
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — after costs
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. board — to get on
  23. bat — the animal
  24. present — a gift

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