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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. season — in sport
  3. mate — to breed
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. board — to get on
  6. fall — the season
  7. spell — letters
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. season — of the year
  12. pop — to visit
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bore — to tire
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. land — a country
  19. bore — to drill
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. fall — to drop
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — a short time
  24. board — a committee

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