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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. net — in sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mate — to breed
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. net — for catching
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. shower — rain
  14. net — after costs
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. shower — to wash
  17. sharp — clever
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. mate — a friend
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. temple — side of the head

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