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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. sharp — clever
  3. mate — a friend
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. tube — a container
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bulb — for light
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. tube — the underground
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. pitch — completely
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mine — for digging
  24. hand — help

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