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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cap — a hat
  9. hand — help
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. lean — thin
  16. race — a contest
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. hand — in cards
  19. race — humankind
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. race — the arms race
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fork — in a road

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