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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. tube — the underground
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. ground — the earth
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. ground — a position
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. mate — a partner
  15. ground — crushed
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. drill — army training
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. tube — a container
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. spring — the season
  24. mate — a friend

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