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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. mate — a friend
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. toast — bread
  9. swing — to play on
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. mine — for digging
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. current — of water
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. swing — music
  18. bat — the animal
  19. current — electric
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. capital — money
  23. mate — a partner
  24. current — happening now

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