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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. spring — of water
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. plane — a tool
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. staff — a stick
  9. spring — a coil
  10. capital — money
  11. mate — a friend
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. capital — a city
  17. spring — the season
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mate — to breed
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. staff — employees
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. staff — employees

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