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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. capital — money
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mate — to breed
  6. spell — letters
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. can — a tin
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mate — a partner
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. squash — the sport
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. can — to be able to
  20. fork — in a road
  21. capital — a city
  22. cold — an illness
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. racket — for tennis

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