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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. can — to be able to
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. pop — soda
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. can — a tin
  11. spell — a short time
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. pop — to visit
  16. mate — to breed
  17. spell — letters
  18. pitch — completely
  19. mine — for digging
  20. court — of law
  21. can — a tin
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pop — music
  24. spell — magic

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