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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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bulb — for light
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. row — a line
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — soda
  9. row — to paddle
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a match
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. mine — for digging
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — a measure
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bulb — for light
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pop — music
  24. mate — a partner

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