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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. mate — a partner
  6. track — a song
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. ball — a great time
  9. capital — money
  10. track — to keep track
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. track — a path
  13. capital — a city
  14. drill — army training
  15. last — final
  16. drill — a practice
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. mate — to breed
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. drill — the tool
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. last — to go on
  23. mate — a friend
  24. last — finally

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