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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. march — the month
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bound — certain
  6. capital — money
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cold — an illness
  9. drill — the tool
  10. march — the month
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. cold — not warm
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. bound — tied together
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. capital — a city
  19. drill — army training
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bound — obliged
  23. march — music
  24. wave — with your hand

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