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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. spring — the season
  3. cell — in biology
  4. row — a line
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mate — a partner
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. spring — a coil
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mate — a friend
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mine — for digging
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. spring — of water
  19. bass — the fish
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. kick — in football
  22. cell — a phone
  23. lie — to recline
  24. bass — low music

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