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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. capital — a city
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bound — certain
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. mark — a trace
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. land — a country
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bound — obliged
  15. stand — to bear
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bound — tied together
  18. capital — money
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. mark — a grade
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — ground
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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