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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 116 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. present — the time now
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. present — there
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bark — to shout
  10. rush — hurry
  11. capital — money
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. present — a gift
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cell — a phone
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. cell — in a prison

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