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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spring — a coil
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. face — part of the head
  8. charge — a price
  9. bass — the fish
  10. spring — of water
  11. hand — help
  12. charge — electricity
  13. capital — a city
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. mate — to breed
  16. charge — in control
  17. face — to confront
  18. mate — a partner
  19. spring — the season
  20. face — to point toward
  21. capital — money
  22. pop — to visit
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bass — low music

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