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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — size or range
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. suit — in cards
  7. mate — a partner
  8. squash — to crush
  9. drill — a practice
  10. suit — clothes
  11. mate — to breed
  12. hand — help
  13. capital — money
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. capital — a city
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. squash — the sport
  20. scale — in music
  21. hand — in cards
  22. suit — to fit
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. lash — to lash out

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