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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mug — a face
  3. fall — to drop
  4. land — a country
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ground — a position
  7. mug — a cup
  8. capital — money
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cap — of ice
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. land — ground
  14. cap — a hat
  15. mug — to rob
  16. last — finally
  17. land — to come down
  18. fall — the season
  19. cap — a lid
  20. last — final
  21. ground — crushed
  22. last — to go on
  23. ground — the earth
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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