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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. mate — to breed
  4. content — happy
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — a tool
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. snap — to click
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. club — for golf
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. club — a group
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. club — for dancing
  23. content — the amount
  24. mine — for digging

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