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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mug — a face
  5. rest — a break
  6. hand — in cards
  7. shower — rain
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. hand — help
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. mug — a cup
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. rest — what's left
  22. capital — money
  23. cap — a hat
  24. mug — to rob

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