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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. mate — a friend
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bound — tied together
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mate — to breed
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bound — certain
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pound — a weight
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fine — all right

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