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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cap — a lid
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — a country
  6. cap — of ice
  7. court — for sport
  8. march — the month
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. court — of law
  11. land — ground
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. saw — the tool
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. court — of a king
  20. march — music
  21. saw — the tool
  22. dip — to sink
  23. capital — a city
  24. cap — a hat

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