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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. capital — a city
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wound — an injury
  5. cap — a hat
  6. mark — a trace
  7. capital — money
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pop — soda
  10. season — in sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. lean — thin
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pop — music
  18. mark — a grade
  19. cap — a lid
  20. pop — to visit
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. season — of the year

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