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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. spell — letters
  3. mate — a friend
  4. mate — a partner
  5. race — humankind
  6. cap — a lid
  7. mate — to breed
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — a tool
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. race — a contest
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. spell — magic
  22. cap — a hat
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cap — of ice

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