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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 116 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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fine — high quality
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fine — all right
  8. wind — moving air
  9. season — in sport
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. march — the month
  13. ground — the earth
  14. season — of the year
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ground — crushed
  19. spring — of water
  20. pit — a hole
  21. capital — money
  22. ground — a position
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. spring — the season

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