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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. kid — to tease
  3. object — a thing
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mate — a friend
  7. kid — child
  8. object — an aim
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mate — to breed
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rash — hasty
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. mark — a trace
  15. capital — a city
  16. rash — a series
  17. vault — a safe
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. object — to protest
  20. capital — money
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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