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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bat — the animal
  5. spring — the season
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. face — part of the head
  8. capital — money
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. craft — boats
  12. suit — to fit
  13. face — to confront
  14. craft — a skill
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. scale — in music
  17. spring — of water
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. suit — in cards
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. suit — clothes

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