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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. capital — a city
  6. mate — a partner
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. mate — to breed
  13. capital — money
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. file — a tool
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ball — a great time
  23. file — a document
  24. ball — a dance

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