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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. land — to come down
  5. mark — a trace
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. spring — the season
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spring — a coil
  11. capital — money
  12. spring — of water
  13. land — ground
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. land — a country
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mark — a grade
  20. race — a contest
  21. toast — bread
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. race — humankind
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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