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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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mate — a friend
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. mate — a partner
  6. face — part of the head
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. file — a line of people
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. file — a document
  11. face — to confront
  12. capital — a city
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. board — to get on
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. file — a tool
  19. capital — money
  20. face — to point toward
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. field — farmland
  23. board — a committee
  24. field — for sport

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