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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. capital — a city
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. lie — to recline
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cold — an illness
  9. march — music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — a face
  13. march — the month
  14. row — a line
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. march — the month
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ground — a position
  20. capital — money
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lie — an untruth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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