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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. capital — money
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. staff — employees
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. net — after costs
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. staff — a stick
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cold — an illness
  12. staff — employees
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cold — not warm
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cap — of ice
  19. net — in sport
  20. cap — a lid
  21. capital — a city
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. prune — to trim

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