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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. deal — to handle
  3. mark — a trace
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. capital — money
  6. mark — a grade
  7. season — in sport
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. scale — size or range
  10. capital — a city
  11. hand — in cards
  12. ground — crushed
  13. scale — in music
  14. bound — certain
  15. ground — the earth
  16. season — of the year
  17. bound — tied together
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. hand — help
  20. ground — a position
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bound — obliged

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