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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.

Make a worksheet

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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. capital — a city
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. branch — a division
  11. wind — moving air
  12. capital — money
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. game — wild animals
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cold — an illness
  18. craft — boats

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