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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. rock — music
  3. march — the month
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. capital — a city
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. march — music
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. game — wild animals
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. capital — money
  22. rock — a stone
  23. game — a match
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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