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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. capital — a city
  3. scale — in music
  4. spell — magic
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mate — a friend
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spell — a short time
  14. swing — music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mate — to breed
  17. capital — money
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spell — letters
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. scale — size or range
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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