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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. capital — a city
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. drill — a practice
  5. rock — music
  6. capital — money
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — of ice
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. object — a thing
  17. drill — army training
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. branch — a division
  23. object — an aim
  24. object — to protest

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