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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: staff · fine · rash · pitcher · jam · clip · mate · capital

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. staff — a stick
  4. mate — a friend
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. capital — money
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rash — a series
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. fine — high quality
  12. rash — hasty
  13. fine — all right
  14. clip — for paper
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. capital — a city
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rash — on the skin

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