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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. season — in sport
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. bound — obliged
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bound — certain
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. capital — money
  10. club — a group
  11. net — after costs
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. club — for dancing
  16. net — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. club — for golf
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bound — tied together
  21. rash — a series
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. net — for catching

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