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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. club — for dancing
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bat — the animal
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mate — a partner
  8. capital — money
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. club — for golf
  12. ground — a position
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. capital — a city
  15. spell — magic
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — a short time
  19. club — a group
  20. mate — a friend
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bat — for baseball

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