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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cap — a lid
  3. scale — in music
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. staff — a stick
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bore — to drill
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. game — a match
  13. cap — a hat
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. scale — size or range
  16. staff — employees
  17. bore — to tire
  18. game — wild animals
  19. staff — employees
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cabinet — ministers

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