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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. snap — to click
  5. tube — the underground
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — high quality
  8. tube — a container
  9. club — a group
  10. dip — to sink
  11. club — for dancing
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. mate — to breed
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. mate — a friend
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. club — for golf
  24. stem — of a plant

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