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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. season — in sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. season — of the year
  8. hand — in cards
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bass — low music
  12. capital — money
  13. scale — in music
  14. bass — the fish
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. hand — help
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. kick — in football
  24. hand — part of the body

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