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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. net — for catching
  3. mate — a partner
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. mate — a friend
  7. club — for dancing
  8. capital — a city
  9. club — for golf
  10. saw — the tool
  11. club — a group
  12. mate — to breed
  13. capital — money
  14. staff — a stick
  15. net — after costs
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. net — in sport
  18. saw — the tool

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