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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. saw — the tool
  3. net — after costs
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. net — for catching
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mate — a partner
  15. fall — the season
  16. bat — the animal
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. sharp — clever
  19. fall — to drop
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. net — in sport
  23. mate — a friend
  24. fall — to drop

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