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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. sharp — clever
  10. pitch — completely
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. march — the month
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. mate — to breed
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. march — the month
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. march — music
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. spring — the season

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