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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. kick — in football
  9. mark — a grade
  10. spring — of water
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. land — ground
  23. pitch — completely
  24. mark — a trace

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