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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. drill — army training
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. drill — a practice
  8. present — a gift
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cap — of ice
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cap — a hat
  17. present — there
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. present — the time now
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cap — a lid

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