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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. pit — in a race
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. board — to get on
  7. capital — a city
  8. board — a committee
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. pit — a hole
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — a grade
  15. capital — money
  16. net — for catching
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. net — after costs
  20. branch — a division
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. sharp — clever
  24. net — in sport

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