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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. board — a committee
  3. spring — the season
  4. lie — to recline
  5. march — the month
  6. capital — a city
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. march — music
  10. season — of the year
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. current — electric
  16. current — happening now
  17. season — in sport
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bat — the animal
  20. march — the month
  21. spring — of water
  22. capital — money
  23. current — of water
  24. bat — in an idiom

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