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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — all right
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. capital — a city
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. cell — in biology
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. present — a gift
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. fine — high quality
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. present — there
  15. cell — a phone
  16. branch — a division
  17. present — the time now
  18. ground — crushed

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