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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cell — in biology
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. capital — money
  6. land — to come down
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. rash — a series
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. land — a country
  11. cell — a phone
  12. can — a tin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mark — a trace
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. land — ground
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. branch — a division
  23. capital — a city
  24. can — a tin

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