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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. ball — a great time
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mate — a friend
  5. roll — a cake
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mate — a partner
  8. fork — in a road
  9. net — for catching
  10. mate — to breed
  11. date — the fruit
  12. net — after costs
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. ball — a dance
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. roll — a list
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. net — in sport
  20. chest — a box
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chest — of your body
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. date — on the calendar

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