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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. court — of law
  14. cue — for pool
  15. ground — a position
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. toast — bread
  19. court — of a king
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ground — the earth
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. cue — a hint
  24. court — for sport

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