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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. foot — a measure
  4. content — the amount
  5. hand — in cards
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. spring — the season
  12. ball — a great time
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hand — help
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mate — to breed
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mate — a partner
  24. foot — the bottom

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