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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mate — a partner
  6. stand — to bear
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. content — happy
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. craft — boats
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. mate — a friend
  13. craft — a skill
  14. rule — government
  15. capital — money
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. rule — a law
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. shower — rain
  23. capital — a city
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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