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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. ground — a position
  7. spring — the season
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mate — a partner
  13. ground — crushed
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. spring — of water
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. spring — a coil
  21. hand — help
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. kid — child
  24. foot — a measure

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