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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. swing — music
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. last — final
  6. present — a gift
  7. ground — a position
  8. last — finally
  9. capital — money
  10. content — happy
  11. mate — to breed
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. date — the fruit
  17. capital — a city
  18. content — the amount
  19. ground — the earth
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. swing — in golf
  22. ground — crushed
  23. swing — to play on
  24. last — to go on

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