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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rush — hurry
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mate — a partner
  7. tear — from crying
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. ground — crushed
  11. file — a document
  12. mate — a friend
  13. toast — bread
  14. capital — money
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. ground — a position
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. mate — to breed
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. capital — a city
  24. tear — from crying

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