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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. mine — for digging
  3. capital — a city
  4. saw — the tool
  5. capital — money
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. object — an aim
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. object — to protest
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. object — a thing
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. nail — for a hammer

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