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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. season — of the year
  3. snap — to click
  4. mate — to breed
  5. season — in sport
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cell — a phone
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. scale — in music
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. drill — the tool
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. mate — a partner
  18. plane — a tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. scale — size or range
  23. cell — in biology
  24. drill — army training

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