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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 120 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. can — to be able to
  3. fall — the season
  4. court — of law
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — a practice
  7. court — for sport
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cap — of ice
  10. can — a tin
  11. fall — to drop
  12. drill — the tool
  13. court — of a king
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a cup
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. can — a tin
  19. cap — a lid
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. capital — a city
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cap — a hat

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