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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. march — the month
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. board — to get on
  11. board — a committee
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — moving air
  16. march — music
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. march — the month
  21. ground — a position
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. capital — a big letter

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