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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. file — a tool
  5. season — of the year
  6. bear — the animal
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. band — a music group
  9. last — final
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. last — to go on
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. last — finally
  19. mate — a partner
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. season — in sport
  23. file — a document
  24. band — a ring

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