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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fork — in a road
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rock — music
  5. cap — a hat
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. spring — of water
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wind — moving air
  11. last — to go on
  12. spring — the season
  13. cap — of ice
  14. spring — a coil
  15. last — finally
  16. rock — a stone
  17. last — final
  18. branch — a division
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cap — a lid
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. fork — a garden tool

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