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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. capital — money
  5. mate — a friend
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in biology
  9. land — ground
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. spell — letters
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. fork — in a road
  22. land — to come down
  23. capital — a city
  24. land — a country

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