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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. rock — music
  4. mate — a partner
  5. tear — to rip
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. race — humankind
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pound — a weight
  15. tear — from crying
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. race — a contest
  18. bulb — for light
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bulb — for light
  21. capital — a city
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mate — a friend
  24. rock — a stone

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