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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. dip — to sink
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. rash — a series
  10. mug — a face
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mug — to rob
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. pop — music
  18. bat — the animal
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. cap — a hat
  21. pop — soda
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. capital — money
  24. fan — a supporter

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