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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. capital — a city
  3. object — an aim
  4. ground — crushed
  5. game — wild animals
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. march — the month
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. object — a thing
  13. can — a tin
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. ground — a position
  18. bound — obliged
  19. object — to protest
  20. wind — moving air
  21. march — music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ground — the earth
  24. game — a match

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