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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cap — a lid
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. craft — boats
  11. cap — a hat
  12. capital — money
  13. hand — help
  14. land — a country
  15. cap — of ice
  16. land — ground
  17. lean — thin
  18. craft — a skill
  19. land — to come down
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. hand — in cards
  23. row — a line
  24. lean — to bend

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