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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pop — soda
  4. present — there
  5. squash — the sport
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. plane — a tool
  9. pop — to visit
  10. track — to keep track
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. hand — help
  13. track — a song
  14. pop — music
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. face — to confront
  17. mate — a partner
  18. track — a path
  19. mate — to breed
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — a gift
  23. face — to point toward
  24. squash — to crush

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