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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mug — a cup
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mug — to rob
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cell — in biology
  14. chair — a leader
  15. mug — a face
  16. band — a ring
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. band — a music group
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. cell — a phone

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