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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. degree — an amount
  5. lie — to recline
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. mate — a partner
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. plane — a tool
  11. snap — to click
  12. land — ground
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. land — a country
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. degree — from a university
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mate — to breed
  20. spring — the season
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. land — to come down

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