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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. dip — to sink
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fine — all right
  7. cell — a phone
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mate — a partner
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. game — a match
  15. cell — in biology
  16. deal — to handle
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mate — to breed
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fine — high quality
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. spell — magic
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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