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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. craft — boats
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mate — to breed
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. ground — crushed
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. craft — a skill
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spring — the season

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