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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. can — a tin
  3. race — humankind
  4. can — a tin
  5. spring — the season
  6. race — the arms race
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rock — a stone
  9. spring — of water
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mate — a partner
  12. can — to be able to
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — clever
  16. squash — the sport
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. race — a contest
  20. bark — to shout
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mate — to breed

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