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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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Word bank
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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. rash — a series
  10. net — after costs
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. dip — to sink
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. capital — money
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. rash — hasty

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