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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 124 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. ground — crushed
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. capital — a city
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. net — in sport
  9. ground — a position
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. capital — money
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — in football
  17. scale — in music
  18. mate — a friend
  19. net — after costs
  20. scale — size or range
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. net — for catching
  24. plane — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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