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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. squash — to crush
  5. mate — to breed
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. club — for golf
  9. capital — a city
  10. club — a group
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — to tire
  13. content — the amount
  14. mate — a partner
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. track — a path
  17. squash — the sport
  18. mate — a friend
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a song
  24. season — in sport

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