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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. mate — to breed
  7. tear — from crying
  8. last — final
  9. capital — money
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. last — to go on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mate — a friend
  14. tear — to rip
  15. capital — a city
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. last — finally
  19. fall — to drop
  20. ground — a position
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. ground — the earth

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