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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mate — a friend
  3. spell — letters
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. mate — a partner
  6. spell — a short time
  7. file — a document
  8. spell — magic
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. file — a tool
  13. court — of a king
  14. bore — to drill
  15. court — of law
  16. bore — to tire
  17. court — for sport
  18. mate — to breed

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