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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. sharp — clever
  3. tube — the underground
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. row — a line
  9. tube — a container
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. row — to paddle
  12. land — a country
  13. club — a group
  14. fine — all right
  15. mate — a friend
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bass — low music
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bass — the fish
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. club — for golf
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. fine — high quality

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