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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cue — a signal
  4. spell — letters
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rule — government
  7. cue — for pool
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mine — for digging
  13. content — the amount
  14. spell — magic
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. rule — a law
  19. cue — a hint
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mate — to breed
  22. spell — a short time
  23. mate — a friend
  24. content — happy

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