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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 116 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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. craft — a skill
  4. can — to be able to
  5. dip — to sink
  6. fall — to drop
  7. ground — a position
  8. band — a ring
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. can — a tin
  12. band — a music group
  13. fall — to drop
  14. ground — the earth
  15. fall — the season
  16. mine — for digging
  17. ground — crushed
  18. can — a tin
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. capital — a big letter

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