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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. tube — a container
  3. mate — to breed
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cell — a phone
  6. chip — to eat
  7. capital — money
  8. chip — for betting
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cell — in biology
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bat — the animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bat — for baseball
  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