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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. mate — a friend
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. tube — a container
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bat — the animal
  12. swing — in golf
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bear — the animal
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mate — to breed
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. swing — music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ground — crushed
  24. swing — to play on

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