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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 120 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. capital — money
  5. march — the month
  6. hand — help
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. hand — in cards
  10. can — a tin
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pass — a permit
  13. can — a tin
  14. march — music
  15. cold — not warm
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — an illness
  18. can — to be able to
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. hand — part of the body

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