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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. field — for sport
  3. spell — letters
  4. kick — in football
  5. mate — a partner
  6. pitch — completely
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. field — farmland
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. field — a subject
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. spell — magic
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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