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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cap — a hat
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. court — of law
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. capital — money
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. clip — a video
  13. court — for sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. clip — to cut
  16. wound — an injury
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cap — a lid
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — of a king
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. clip — for paper
  24. cap — of ice

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