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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. rush — hurry
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bulb — for light
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ground — crushed
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ground — the earth
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bulb — for light
  19. court — for sport
  20. ground — a position
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. wind — moving air

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