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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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. track — a path
  4. spring — the season
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. capital — a city
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. mug — to rob
  15. can — to be able to
  16. cap — a hat
  17. spring — of water
  18. cap — of ice
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — a face
  21. capital — money
  22. cap — a lid
  23. spring — a coil
  24. sharp — clever

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