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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. fine — all right
  3. capital — a city
  4. fine — high quality
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. game — a match
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bank — for money
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bank — for money
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. deal — to handle
  19. game — wild animals
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bank — of a river
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. capital — money
  24. cold — an illness

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