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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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. net — for catching
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. spring — a coil
  7. net — in sport
  8. cap — a hat
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. chest — a box
  12. spring — the season
  13. cap — of ice
  14. spring — of water
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. net — after costs
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — hurry
  22. fork — in a road
  23. mate — a friend
  24. chest — of your body

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