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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. swing — music
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. staff — employees
  5. mate — a friend
  6. capital — money
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. staff — a stick
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. mate — a partner
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mate — to breed
  16. court — of a king
  17. capital — a city
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. rest — what's left

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