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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — a friend
  4. file — a document
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mine — for digging
  7. spring — of water
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. file — a line of people
  10. drill — army training
  11. spring — the season
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. spring — a coil
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — bread
  18. file — a tool

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