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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. land — a country
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. land — ground
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. field — farmland
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. scale — in music
  20. field — a subject
  21. scale — size or range
  22. field — for sport
  23. land — to come down
  24. bark — of a tree

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