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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. capital — a city
  3. mate — a friend
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. tear — from crying
  6. march — the month
  7. mate — to breed
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. ball — a great time
  11. mate — a partner
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. capital — money
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. tear — to rip
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. march — the month
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. ball — a dance
  23. march — music
  24. rash — on the skin

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