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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. snap — to click
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. capital — a city
  10. field — for sport
  11. mate — to breed
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. last — finally
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — a container
  16. capital — money
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mate — a partner
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. tube — the underground

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