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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 is an ace ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. roll — a cake
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rule — government
  8. track — to keep track
  9. rest — a break
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rule — a law
  12. mate — to breed
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. track — a song
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. roll — a list
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a ring
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mate — a friend
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. track — a path
  24. roll — on a 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