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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. field — farmland
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mate — a friend
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spring — the season
  13. mate — to breed
  14. spring — of water
  15. plane — a tool
  16. roll — a cake
  17. squash — to crush
  18. roll — a list
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chip — for betting

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