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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. staff — employees
  3. march — the month
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. capital — money
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. march — the month
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. march — music
  13. tear — from crying
  14. staff — employees
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. season — of the year
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. season — in sport
  20. staff — a stick
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bat — for baseball

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