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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pop — soda
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. cap — a hat
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. lean — to bend
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. clip — for paper
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bound — certain
  16. bear — the animal
  17. capital — money
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pop — music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bound — obliged
  22. capital — a city
  23. clip — a video
  24. cap — a lid

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