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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. date — the fruit
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mate — a partner
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. capital — a city
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. can — to be able to
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. drill — a practice
  11. capital — money
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. drill — army training
  16. can — a tin
  17. mate — to breed
  18. game — wild animals
  19. mate — a friend
  20. can — a tin
  21. mine — for digging
  22. drill — the tool
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. date — on the calendar

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