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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chair — a leader
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. net — in sport
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. capital — a city
  10. can — to be able to
  11. net — after costs
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. can — a tin
  14. ground — the earth
  15. capital — money
  16. can — a tin
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — for dancing
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. cold — not warm
  22. net — for catching
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. club — a group

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