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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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. court — for sport
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. lean — to bend
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pound — a weight
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. capital — a city
  13. court — of a king
  14. mate — a friend
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. capital — money
  19. court — of law
  20. lean — thin
  21. mate — a partner
  22. squash — the sport
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. squash — to crush

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