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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 116 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mate — a friend
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. land — ground
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bear — the animal
  18. land — a country
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. degree — an amount
  22. spring — the season
  23. mate — to breed
  24. degree — temperature

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