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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. mate — a friend
  4. last — finally
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. mate — to breed
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. present — there
  10. ground — a position
  11. last — final
  12. degree — from a university
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. last — to go on
  15. degree — temperature
  16. present — the time now
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. mate — a partner
  24. capital — a city

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