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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. club — a group
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cue — a hint
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — in biology
  7. club — for dancing
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cell — a phone
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. march — the month
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. chair — a leader
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cue — for pool
  18. march — music
  19. capital — money
  20. face — to point toward
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. club — for golf
  23. face — to confront
  24. cue — a signal

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