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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 124 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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pound — a weight
  3. net — after costs
  4. cap — a hat
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. cap — a lid
  8. capital — money
  9. fine — high quality
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. staff — employees
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. cap — of ice
  16. net — for catching
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. capital — a city
  20. scale — in music
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. deal — to handle
  23. net — in sport
  24. scale — size or range

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