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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. club — for dancing
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. club — for golf
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. hand — help
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. root — of a word
  11. mine — for digging
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. root — the cause
  14. club — a group
  15. hand — in cards
  16. foot — a measure
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. present — there
  20. present — the time now
  21. mate — a friend
  22. present — a gift
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. root — of a plant

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