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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. can — to be able to
  4. mark — a trace
  5. chair — a leader
  6. can — a tin
  7. mate — a friend
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mate — a partner
  11. cold — not warm
  12. swing — music
  13. bound — tied together
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bound — certain
  20. tear — from crying
  21. swing — in golf
  22. can — a tin
  23. mark — a grade
  24. tear — to rip

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