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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. swing — music
  3. content — happy
  4. swing — in golf
  5. court — for sport
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. capital — money
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. spell — a short time
  11. court — of law
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spell — magic
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. capital — a city
  17. court — of a king
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. spell — letters
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. swing — to play on
  24. content — the amount

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