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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — a division
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cap — of ice
  11. can — to be able to
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. capital — money
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. game — a match
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cap — a hat
  19. can — a tin
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. can — a tin
  22. bore — to drill
  23. cap — a lid
  24. game — wild animals

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