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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. craft — boats
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wind — moving air
  10. craft — a skill
  11. object — an aim
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pop — music
  14. object — to protest
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mate — a partner
  17. object — a thing
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — a position
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. game — a match
  22. mate — to breed
  23. pop — soda
  24. ground — crushed

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