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

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. net — after costs
  3. bear — the animal
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. band — a music group
  6. craft — a skill
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bear — the animal
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. net — in sport
  11. craft — boats
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. snap — to click
  17. capital — money
  18. net — for catching

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