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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. cap — a hat
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. row — a line
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. capital — money
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. fork — in a road
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. cap — a lid
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. row — a quarrel

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