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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mate — to breed
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fine — high quality
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. ground — a position
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fine — all right
  11. game — a match
  12. mate — a partner
  13. bore — to drill
  14. sharp — clever
  15. capital — a city
  16. mate — a friend
  17. ground — crushed
  18. roll — a cake
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. roll — a list
  21. bore — to tire
  22. capital — money
  23. ground — the earth
  24. fine — a penalty

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