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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · shower · mate · sharp · stick · mine · game · lie

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. shower — rain
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. spring — a coil
  9. shower — to wash
  10. spring — of water
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. game — a match
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. sharp — clever
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. spring — the season
  19. lie — to recline
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. mate — to breed
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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