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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. spring — the season
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cap — a hat
  8. capital — a city
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cap — a lid
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. capital — money
  14. pit — a hole
  15. cap — of ice
  16. staff — employees
  17. spring — a coil
  18. staff — a stick
  19. spring — of water
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. staff — employees
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pit — in a race

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