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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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 — a friend
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. foot — a measure
  4. fall — to drop
  5. shower — to wash
  6. spring — the season
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fall — the season
  9. mate — to breed
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. shower — rain
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. clip — for paper
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. cue — for pool
  18. spring — of water
  19. wake — a trail
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fall — to drop
  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