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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. chest — of your body
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — clever
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rule — government
  16. chest — a box
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. date — the fruit
  22. mate — to breed
  23. kid — to tease
  24. rule — a law

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