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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bear — the animal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bear — the animal
  8. can — a tin
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. capital — a city
  13. can — a tin
  14. game — a match
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. clip — for paper
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. game — wild animals
  20. can — to be able to
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. clip — a video

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