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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mate — a partner
  3. shower — rain
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. suit — to fit
  6. capital — money
  7. suit — clothes
  8. ground — the earth
  9. suit — in cards
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mate — to breed
  16. ground — a position
  17. mate — a friend
  18. ground — crushed

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