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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. spell — a short time
  3. saw — the tool
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. fork — in a road
  8. saw — the tool
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. roll — a cake
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cold — not warm
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. spell — magic
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cold — an illness
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. mate — a friend
  19. spell — letters
  20. roll — a list
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. fork — to eat with

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