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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. row — a line
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. mate — to breed
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. rock — a stone
  10. kid — child
  11. rock — music
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mate — a partner
  16. content — happy
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. row — to paddle
  22. content — the amount
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bat — the animal

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