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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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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bore — to tire
  5. capital — money
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. capital — a city
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mate — a partner
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bore — to drill
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. capital — a big letter

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