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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. game — a match
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. capital — a city
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. mate — a partner
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mate — to breed
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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