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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 124 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — in sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. current — of water
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a lid
  11. current — electric
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. capital — money
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mark — a trace
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. cap — a hat
  23. pit — a hole
  24. current — happening now

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