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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 120 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a hat
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. game — a match
  5. capital — a city
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wound — an injury
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. branch — a division
  11. game — wild animals
  12. board — a committee
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — the sport
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. capital — money
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cap — a lid
  23. board — to get on
  24. board — a flat piece

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