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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mate — a friend
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. clip — a video
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mine — for digging
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. mine — an explosive

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