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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hand — in cards
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bear — the animal
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bear — the animal
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pound — a weight
  16. hand — help
  17. drill — the tool
  18. ball — a dance
  19. mate — to breed
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. mate — a partner
  22. capital — a city
  23. drill — army training
  24. ball — a great time

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