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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. scale — size or range
  2. march — the month
  3. cap — a hat
  4. march — the month
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. capital — a city
  7. mate — a friend
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mate — to breed
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. scale — in music
  12. race — a contest
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. cap — of ice
  17. march — music
  18. mate — a partner
  19. cap — a lid
  20. capital — money
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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