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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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. pitch — completely
  4. tear — to rip
  5. chip — to eat
  6. plane — a tool
  7. season — of the year
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mate — a friend
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — in sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ground — crushed
  18. chip — for betting
  19. ground — the earth
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. ground — a position
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. tear — from crying

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