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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mate — to breed
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. spring — of water
  8. mate — a friend
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fall — the season
  13. deal — to handle
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. present — the time now
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. spring — a coil
  18. sharp — clever
  19. chip — to eat
  20. present — there
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chip — for betting
  23. spring — the season
  24. mate — a partner

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