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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 settled on a ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mate — to breed
  5. rock — music
  6. shower — to wash
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. can — to be able to
  10. date — the fruit
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. mate — a friend
  14. shower — rain
  15. rock — a stone
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. cell — in biology
  20. hand — help
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mate — a partner
  23. cell — a phone
  24. wound — an injury

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