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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. tube — a container
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. court — of law
  6. mate — a partner
  7. board — to get on
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mate — to breed
  10. court — for sport
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. court — of a king
  14. capital — a city
  15. board — a committee
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wound — an injury

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