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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rock — a stone
  4. mate — to breed
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. mate — a partner
  7. shower — rain
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cold — not warm
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. saw — the tool
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. rock — music

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