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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 120 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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. scale — size or range
  6. root — the cause
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. chest — a box
  12. mate — a friend
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. capital — a city
  17. root — of a plant
  18. capital — money
  19. mate — to breed
  20. chest — of your body
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. root — of a word
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. scale — in music

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