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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mate — a partner
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. rush — hurry
  11. spell — a short time
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cold — an illness
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. mate — a friend
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. deal — to handle
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. game — a match

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