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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. ball — a great time
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cap — a hat
  7. shower — rain
  8. rest — what's left
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. club — for dancing
  11. capital — money
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — a group
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cap — a lid
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cap — of ice
  18. ball — a round shape

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