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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. rock — a stone
  5. spell — magic
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. capital — money
  8. spell — letters
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mate — a partner
  11. spell — a short time
  12. mate — to breed
  13. rock — music
  14. bound — obliged
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain

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