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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. fine — all right
  4. mate — to breed
  5. ball — a dance
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. deal — to handle
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ground — a position
  10. fine — high quality
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. branch — a division
  13. ground — crushed
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mate — a friend
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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