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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. ground — a position
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mate — a partner
  11. hand — in cards
  12. track — a path
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mate — to breed
  20. track — a song
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. rash — a series
  23. stem — to come from
  24. rash — hasty

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