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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. drill — a practice
  6. capital — a city
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. drill — the tool
  10. content — happy
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. content — the amount
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. capital — money
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. drill — army training
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pound — a weight
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. mate — a partner

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