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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. scale — size or range
  3. net — in sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — in music
  6. lie — to recline
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. net — for catching
  12. bank — of a river
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. capital — money
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. net — after costs
  21. bank — for money
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bank — for money

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