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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. staff — a stick
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. object — a thing
  6. rest — a break
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. club — for dancing
  9. season — in sport
  10. game — a match
  11. season — of the year
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rest — what's left
  14. object — an aim
  15. club — for golf
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. staff — employees
  18. rest — what's left
  19. object — to protest
  20. game — wild animals
  21. staff — employees
  22. capital — money
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. club — a group

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