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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. land — a country
  3. mate — a friend
  4. land — to come down
  5. stock — goods
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bore — to drill
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pop — music
  11. clip — a video
  12. stock — shares
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. land — ground
  15. spell — letters
  16. bear — the animal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pop — to visit
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. pop — soda
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bore — gave birth

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