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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — money
  7. march — the month
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pit — a hole
  10. cap — a hat
  11. march — music
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rule — a law
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. can — a tin
  16. cold — an illness
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cap — of ice
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. rule — government
  21. march — the month
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. cold — the Cold War

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