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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 116 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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. row — a line
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mine — for digging
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. plane — a tool
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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