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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. pop — music
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. date — the fruit
  8. capital — money
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. hand — in cards
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. pop — soda
  15. net — for catching
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. net — after costs
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pop — to visit
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. net — in sport
  24. cabinet — ministers

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