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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. capital — a city
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. track — a song
  7. capital — money
  8. march — the month
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. march — the month
  11. pop — soda
  12. land — a country
  13. clip — to cut
  14. toast — bread
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. march — music
  19. track — to keep track
  20. clip — a video
  21. track — a path
  22. clip — for paper
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. pop — music

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