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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. spell — a short time
  3. capital — money
  4. lean — thin
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. file — a document
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. spell — magic
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a tool
  15. stand — to bear
  16. march — the month
  17. lean — to bend
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. spell — letters
  20. march — the month
  21. game — wild animals
  22. march — music
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. capital — a city

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