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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cue — a hint
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. kick — in football
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cell — a phone
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. mate — a friend
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mate — to breed
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cue — for pool
  18. mate — a partner
  19. net — in sport
  20. capital — a city
  21. cue — a signal
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — after costs
  24. saw — the tool

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