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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. mate — a friend
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. capital — a city
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. rush — hurry
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. tube — a container
  14. file — a document
  15. mate — a partner
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. row — to paddle
  20. file — a tool
  21. tube — the underground
  22. row — a line
  23. mate — to breed
  24. capital — money

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