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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. present — a gift
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — money
  8. present — there
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. present — the time now
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. capital — a city
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bat — in an idiom

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