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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. capital — a city
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pass — a permit
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. pit — a hole
  14. capital — money
  15. pit — in a race
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. content — happy
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. sharp — clever

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