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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. land — a country
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. land — ground
  8. ground — crushed
  9. land — to come down
  10. wound — an injury
  11. season — in sport
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. deal — to handle
  15. sharp — clever
  16. ground — the earth
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. season — of the year
  20. ground — a position
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mate — a friend
  24. deal — a big deal

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