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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 120 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. race — humankind
  4. field — farmland
  5. game — a match
  6. field — a subject
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bore — to drill
  9. net — after costs
  10. race — a contest
  11. pass — a permit
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. field — for sport
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. net — in sport
  21. spring — of water
  22. race — the arms race
  23. net — for catching
  24. bore — to tire

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