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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mine — for digging
  7. staff — a stick
  8. mate — to breed
  9. net — for catching
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. fall — to drop
  12. file — a document
  13. capital — money
  14. staff — employees
  15. can — a tin
  16. fall — the season
  17. capital — a city
  18. file — a line of people
  19. can — a tin
  20. staff — employees
  21. net — in sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. net — after costs
  24. file — a tool

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