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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. spell — letters
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. root — of a plant
  5. ground — a position
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — to breed
  8. spell — magic
  9. chip — to eat
  10. sharp — clever
  11. capital — a city
  12. root — of a word
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. ground — the earth
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. capital — money
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. root — the cause
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wind — moving air

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