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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. staff — employees
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. prune — to trim
  8. staff — a stick
  9. face — part of the head
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. staff — employees
  12. prune — to trim
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. mate — to breed
  15. court — for sport
  16. chip — for betting
  17. face — to point toward
  18. chip — to eat
  19. mate — a friend
  20. court — of a king
  21. face — to confront
  22. court — of law
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. mine — for digging

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