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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. land — a country
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. lean — to bend
  5. spring — a coil
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. dip — to sink
  10. spring — the season
  11. branch — a division
  12. lean — thin
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. capital — money
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. land — ground
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. land — to come down
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spring — of water
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. branch — of a tree

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