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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 124 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. branch — a division
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cap — a lid
  5. capital — a city
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cap — a hat
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. mate — a partner
  12. march — music
  13. capital — money
  14. object — a thing
  15. cap — of ice
  16. mate — to breed
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. date — the fruit
  19. mate — a friend
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. object — to protest
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. capital — a big letter

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