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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bass — the fish
  3. sharp — clever
  4. capital — money
  5. mate — a friend
  6. file — a line of people
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. bass — low music
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mate — a partner
  13. capital — a city
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bass — the instrument

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