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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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. stand — to bear
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. can — a tin
  6. deal — to handle
  7. can — to be able to
  8. row — a line
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. scale — size or range
  11. can — a tin
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bark — to shout
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. capital — money
  24. row — to paddle

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