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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rush — hurry
  4. spring — the season
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spring — a coil
  7. present — the time now
  8. mate — to breed
  9. game — wild animals
  10. spring — of water
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fall — the season
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. fall — to drop
  21. present — a gift
  22. game — a match
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. present — there

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