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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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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. cap — of ice
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. capital — a city
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. key — for a lock
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. roll — a cake
  13. cap — a hat
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. land — a country
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. root — of a word
  20. roll — a list
  21. cap — a lid
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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