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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 116 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rest — a break
  3. mark — a trace
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. capital — money
  7. cell — a phone
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. rest — what's left
  10. can — a tin
  11. mark — a grade
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. land — ground
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. land — to come down
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cell — in biology
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — to be able to
  23. land — a country
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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