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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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. clip — to cut
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. mate — a friend
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rest — a break
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. branch — a division
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. capital — money
  15. rest — what's left
  16. clip — a video
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. clip — for paper
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. bulb — for light
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mate — to breed
  24. rest — what's left

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