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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. mate — a partner
  3. spell — letters
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mate — to breed
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stock — goods
  11. rush — hurry
  12. capital — money
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. roll — a cake
  15. capital — a city
  16. ball — a great time
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. mate — a friend
  19. stock — shares
  20. spell — a short time
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. chair — a leader
  24. spell — magic

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