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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. game — a match
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. cell — in biology
  11. plane — a tool
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cell — a phone
  24. calf — of the leg

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