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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. land — a country
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. mate — to breed
  8. file — a line of people
  9. ground — a position
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. key — in music
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. mate — a friend
  14. ground — crushed
  15. land — ground
  16. bulb — for light
  17. ground — the earth
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. land — to come down
  20. file — a document
  21. key — the most important part
  22. file — a tool
  23. key — for a lock
  24. bulb — for light

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