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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 116 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mug — to rob
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lie — to recline
  8. land — a country
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. land — to come down
  12. mate — a friend
  13. land — ground
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mate — to breed
  16. saw — the tool
  17. spring — the season
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. fan — to cool the air

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