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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rest — what's left
  4. game — a match
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. net — in sport
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. fork — in a road
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. mate — a friend
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. rest — a break
  14. bat — the animal
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. plane — a tool
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. net — after costs
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mate — to breed
  24. game — wild animals

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