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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. lean — thin
  4. mate — to breed
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. mate — a friend
  10. rush — hurry
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. capital — a city
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. bore — to drill
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. capital — money
  20. lean — to bend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. pitch — completely
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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