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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. capital — money
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. last — finally
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mate — to breed
  8. march — the month
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. mate — a friend
  12. pit — a hole
  13. march — the month
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. last — final
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pit — in a race
  21. capital — a city
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. march — 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