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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 124 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mine — for digging
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — a friend
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. face — to confront
  13. foot — a measure
  14. face — to point toward
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. degree — an amount
  24. face — part of the head

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