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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chest — a box
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. track — a path
  12. key — the most important part
  13. key — in music
  14. game — a match
  15. track — to keep track
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. key — for a lock
  21. cap — of ice
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cap — a hat

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