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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. mate — a friend
  4. degree — temperature
  5. roll — a cake
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. present — a gift
  8. tear — from crying
  9. roll — a list
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. present — there
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. tear — to rip
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mate — to breed
  21. fork — in a road
  22. tear — from crying
  23. present — the time now
  24. date — the fruit

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