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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. net — in sport
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. net — after costs
  11. hand — help
  12. stock — goods
  13. hand — in cards
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stock — shares
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. mate — a partner
  19. net — for catching
  20. mate — a friend
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. temple — side 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