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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. pit — in a race
  3. capital — a city
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. bass — low music
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bass — the fish
  12. field — for sport
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cap — a lid
  15. land — to come down
  16. capital — money
  17. field — a subject
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cap — a hat
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. field — farmland
  24. nail — for a hammer

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