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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 116 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. prune — to trim
  5. club — a group
  6. capital — money
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. race — a contest
  11. row — a line
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cap — a hat
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. race — humankind
  17. capital — a city
  18. prune — to trim
  19. club — for golf
  20. bat — the animal
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. race — the arms race

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