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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mate — a partner
  6. game — wild animals
  7. can — a tin
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mate — a friend
  12. fork — in a road
  13. capital — money
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. can — to be able to
  16. capital — a city
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. game — a match
  24. can — a tin

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