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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wind — moving air
  4. capital — a city
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. cap — of ice
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. drill — a practice
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wind — moving air
  14. land — ground
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rash — a series
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cap — a lid
  21. drill — the tool
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. drill — army training

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