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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. hand — help
  3. capital — a city
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mate — a friend
  6. capital — money
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cap — of ice
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. lean — to bend
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. mate — to breed
  20. lean — thin
  21. cap — a hat
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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