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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pop — music
  3. mate — to breed
  4. can — a tin
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. mate — a friend
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pop — soda
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pop — to visit

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