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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. mate — to breed
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. game — wild animals
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. band — a music group
  14. squash — to crush
  15. mate — a partner
  16. band — a ring
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. squash — the sport
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. band — a rubber band

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