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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. land — a country
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. mate — a friend
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. row — a line
  11. content — the amount
  12. land — ground
  13. plane — a tool
  14. land — to come down
  15. content — happy
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. game — a match
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. game — wild animals
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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