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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. capital — a city
  3. court — of a king
  4. cap — a lid
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. pop — to visit
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. court — for sport
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. cell — a phone
  12. pop — soda
  13. capital — money
  14. cap — a hat
  15. deal — to handle
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. pop — music
  19. cell — in biology
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. court — of law
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. deal — an agreement

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