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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. staff — employees
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bear — the animal
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bear — the animal
  8. hand — in cards
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. capital — money
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mate — a friend
  13. staff — employees
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. capital — a city
  17. cap — a hat
  18. staff — a stick
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bear — to put up with

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