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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bound — tied together
  3. row — a line
  4. capital — money
  5. cap — of ice
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cap — a hat
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a city
  10. club — for golf
  11. row — to paddle
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. rock — music
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — obliged
  16. rock — a stone
  17. club — a group
  18. cap — a lid
  19. club — for dancing
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. lie — to recline
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. prune — the fruit

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