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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. mate — a friend
  3. race — a contest
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mate — a partner
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. swing — music
  16. rule — government
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. swing — in golf
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mine — for digging
  22. last — to go on
  23. mate — to breed
  24. race — humankind

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