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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. land — a country
  3. lean — thin
  4. fork — in a road
  5. lean — to bend
  6. game — a match
  7. land — to come down
  8. march — music
  9. plane — a tool
  10. land — ground
  11. march — the month
  12. toast — bread
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. game — wild animals
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. mate — to breed
  18. march — the month
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. mate — a friend
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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