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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. land — a country
  6. prune — to trim
  7. capital — money
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pit — a hole
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. land — ground
  14. key — for a lock
  15. land — to come down
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. pit — in a race
  19. tear — to rip
  20. key — the most important part
  21. key — in music
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. stand — to bear
  24. ball — a dance

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