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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. lie — to recline
  3. present — a gift
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. present — the time now
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. band — a music group
  11. mate — to breed
  12. band — a ring
  13. present — there
  14. mate — a partner
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mine — for digging
  17. staff — employees
  18. cold — an illness
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. staff — employees
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. nail — for a hammer

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