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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. sharp — clever
  3. scale — size or range
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cap — a hat
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. land — a country
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. scale — in music
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cap — a lid
  19. capital — a city
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. capital — money

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