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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mate — a partner
  3. season — in sport
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. court — of law
  7. court — of a king
  8. rule — a law
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. capital — a city
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. kid — to tease
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. court — for sport
  17. rule — government
  18. kid — child
  19. season — of the year
  20. capital — money
  21. rash — a series
  22. plane — a tool
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. mate — to breed

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