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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bank — of a river
  4. march — music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — not warm
  8. squash — the sport
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — music
  11. capital — a city
  12. spring — of water
  13. march — the month
  14. cap — a hat
  15. march — the month
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. squash — to crush
  19. cap — of ice
  20. spring — the season
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bank — for money
  24. cap — a lid

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