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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 120 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. spring — of water
  3. bore — to tire
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. sharp — clever
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. march — music
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. ground — crushed
  14. march — the month
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bore — to drill
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. spring — the season
  19. march — the month
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. mate — a partner
  22. plane — a tool
  23. spring — a coil
  24. ruler — for measuring

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