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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 116 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. current — of water
  3. staff — employees
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kid — child
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. pop — music
  11. cap — a lid
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pop — to visit
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. kid — to tease
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. current — electric
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pop — soda
  23. cap — of ice
  24. current — happening now

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