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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. mate — to breed
  2. dip — to sink
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. mate — a friend
  7. key — the most important part
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mate — a partner
  10. craft — boats
  11. key — for a lock
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. key — in music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. drill — the tool
  18. game — a match
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. craft — a skill
  22. chair — a leader
  23. drill — army training
  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