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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. rock — music
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bore — to tire
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. spring — of water
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. mate — a partner
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. net — for catching
  18. mate — to breed
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. spring — the season
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. bore — to drill
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rock — a stone

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