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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bulb — for light
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. capital — money
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mate — to breed
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. board — a committee
  11. capital — a city
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. court — of a king
  14. board — to get on
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. court — of law
  21. mate — a friend
  22. court — for sport
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. bulb — of a plant

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