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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. cell — a phone
  5. track — a song
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. game — a match
  14. track — a path
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. track — to keep track
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wake — a trail
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cell — in biology

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