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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. net — after costs
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spring — of water
  9. net — in sport
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. plane — a tool
  16. kid — child
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. net — for catching
  19. mate — to breed
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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