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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cell — in biology
  3. lean — thin
  4. tear — to rip
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. charge — a price
  7. capital — a city
  8. mate — a friend
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pound — a weight
  13. capital — money
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. charge — in control
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bass — low music
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. cell — a phone
  22. tear — from crying
  23. charge — electricity
  24. capital — a big letter

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