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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. court — of a king
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. court — for sport
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. spell — magic
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bat — the animal
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. mate — a partner
  18. spell — a short time
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. spell — letters
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. court — of law
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bat — for baseball

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