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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wake — a trail
  3. capital — a city
  4. cold — an illness
  5. spell — letters
  6. land — a country
  7. spell — magic
  8. land — ground
  9. stand — to bear
  10. cold — not warm
  11. spell — a short time
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. capital — money
  18. hand — in cards
  19. land — to come down
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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