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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. last — final
  4. staff — employees
  5. land — ground
  6. mate — a friend
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. fall — to drop
  9. staff — employees
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. land — to come down
  13. kick — in football
  14. last — finally
  15. lie — to recline
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. last — to go on
  18. staff — a stick
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fall — the season
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. plane — a tool
  24. land — a country

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