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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. capital — a city
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wind — moving air
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. key — for a lock
  15. mate — a friend
  16. key — the most important part
  17. capital — money
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. key — in music
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. rush — hurry
  23. prune — to trim
  24. mine — an explosive

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