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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. land — ground
  6. sharp — clever
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — the underground
  9. content — the amount
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. tube — a container
  13. land — a country
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mate — to breed
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — to come down
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — a stone
  20. mate — a partner
  21. content — happy
  22. rock — music
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. date — the fruit

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