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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. spell — a short time
  3. key — the most important part
  4. mate — to breed
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. mate — a friend
  7. tube — the underground
  8. land — ground
  9. capital — money
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. stock — goods
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. tube — a container
  14. land — a country
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. land — to come down
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. spell — letters
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. key — for a lock
  22. stock — shares
  23. key — in music
  24. spell — magic

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