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

Word bank: mine · ball · club · snap · cell · pit · mate · capital

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. club — for golf
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pit — in a race
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. mate — to breed
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. ball — a dance
  14. snap — to click
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — a group
  17. cell — in biology
  18. mate — a partner
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. capital — a city
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ball — a great time
  24. cell — a phone

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