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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 120 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mate — to breed
  4. lean — to bend
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. season — in sport
  8. hand — help
  9. clip — a video
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kid — to tease
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. lean — thin
  14. deal — to handle
  15. track — a song
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. track — a path
  18. clip — for paper
  19. kid — child
  20. season — of the year
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. clip — to cut
  23. mate — a partner
  24. track — to keep track

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