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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. fall — to drop
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. capital — money
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bore — to tire
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. fall — the season
  14. branch — a division
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bore — to drill
  19. capital — a city
  20. fall — to drop
  21. mate — to breed
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. plane — in geometry

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