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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bank — for money
  6. cap — a lid
  7. capital — a city
  8. rule — a law
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. capital — money
  12. bank — for money
  13. rule — government
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mine — for digging
  19. game — a match
  20. cap — a hat
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bank — of a river
  24. date — the fruit

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