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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. ball — a great time
  3. mate — to breed
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. land — a country
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. land — ground
  9. present — the time now
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. land — to come down
  15. ground — the earth
  16. present — there
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. ground — crushed
  19. wound — an injury
  20. sharp — clever
  21. present — a gift
  22. ground — a position
  23. mate — a partner
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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