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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. pound — a weight
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. roll — a list
  6. rush — hurry
  7. spell — magic
  8. mate — a partner
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. kid — child
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. spell — a short time
  14. roll — a cake
  15. spell — letters
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. kid — to tease

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