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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. rash — a series
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kid — child
  6. last — final
  7. club — for golf
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. capital — a city
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. club — for dancing
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. last — finally
  21. club — a group
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mate — to breed
  24. last — to go on

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