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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. row — to paddle
  8. shower — rain
  9. row — a line
  10. mine — for digging
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. march — the month
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. shower — to wash
  22. capital — money
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. trunk — of a tree

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