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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. mark — a trace
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hand — help
  7. capital — money
  8. spell — a short time
  9. board — to get on
  10. cap — a hat
  11. mark — a grade
  12. board — a committee
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. capital — a city
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. cap — of ice
  20. spell — magic
  21. pound — a weight
  22. game — a match
  23. spell — letters
  24. hand — part of the body

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