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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mate — a partner
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. roll — a cake
  8. last — final
  9. roll — a list
  10. net — in sport
  11. spring — a coil
  12. net — after costs
  13. row — to paddle
  14. net — for catching
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mate — a friend
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. row — a line
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. spring — the season
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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