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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. file — a tool
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bulb — for light
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. sharp — clever
  11. mate — a friend
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. file — a document
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. mate — to breed

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