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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. capital — a city
  3. cap — a lid
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. dip — to sink
  6. land — to come down
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bound — obliged
  9. press — a publisher
  10. land — a country
  11. prune — to trim
  12. land — ground
  13. bound — certain
  14. capital — money
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. track — a path
  17. cap — of ice
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. prune — to trim
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. press — to push
  22. track — a song
  23. bound — tied together
  24. press — newspapers

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