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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 120 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — money
  4. march — the month
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. race — humankind
  8. mark — a grade
  9. march — music
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. march — the month
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. plane — in geometry

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