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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bore — to tire
  5. file — a line of people
  6. degree — temperature
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — high quality
  10. file — a document
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bore — to drill
  15. degree — from a university
  16. spring — the season
  17. mate — to breed
  18. file — a tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. degree — an amount
  22. spring — of water
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — in a road

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