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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. spring — the season
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — for betting
  5. spring — of water
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. ground — a position
  9. spring — a coil
  10. ground — the earth
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. staff — employees
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. ground — crushed
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. mine — for digging
  19. chip — to eat
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — to breed
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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