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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. spring — of water
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. mark — a trace
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. spring — the season
  9. mate — a partner
  10. pop — to visit
  11. spell — letters
  12. plane — a tool
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pop — music
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. mark — a grade
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. mate — to breed
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. pop — soda
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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