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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. chip — for betting
  3. court — for sport
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cold — not warm
  6. row — to paddle
  7. fine — all right
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. chip — to eat
  19. row — a line
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. mate — a partner
  22. stem — to come from
  23. mate — to breed
  24. fine — a penalty

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