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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pop — soda
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. rule — a law
  6. mate — a partner
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. rule — government
  10. pop — music
  11. root — of a plant
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mate — to breed
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. capital — a city
  21. bat — the animal
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — a tool
  24. capital — money

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