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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. mate — to breed
  5. date — the fruit
  6. branch — a division
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. land — to come down
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. game — wild animals
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

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