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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. staff — employees
  3. band — a ring
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. face — to point toward
  6. row — a line
  7. face — part of the head
  8. mate — a partner
  9. row — to paddle
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. mate — to breed
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. face — to confront
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. net — after costs
  22. spell — magic
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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