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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. capital — a city
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. current — happening now
  9. pass — a permit
  10. current — of water
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pop — music
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — soda
  18. cap — a lid
  19. current — electric
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cap — of ice
  22. capital — money
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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