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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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Word bank
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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. bound — certain
  7. file — a line of people
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bound — tied together
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. mate — to breed
  15. file — a document
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. fork — in a road
  20. pit — a hole
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. chair — a leader
  23. pit — in a race
  24. file — a tool

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