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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. cap — a lid
  4. rash — hasty
  5. ground — a position
  6. capital — a city
  7. rash — a series
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bear — the animal
  10. capital — money
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wind — moving air
  15. present — the time now
  16. bear — the animal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cap — of ice
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. mine — for digging

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