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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. craft — a skill
  6. mate — a partner
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. lean — to bend
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — money
  12. lean — thin
  13. mate — to breed
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. craft — boats
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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