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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. ground — a position
  8. bulb — for light
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bulb — for light
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. shower — rain
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. club — a group
  20. pitch — completely
  21. ball — a dance
  22. club — for golf
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bat — for baseball

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