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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. drill — a practice
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rock — music
  6. capital — a city
  7. mate — a friend
  8. clip — to cut
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. mate — to breed
  16. season — in sport
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. rock — a stone
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. rock — to move gently
  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