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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cell — a phone
  4. capital — money
  5. cell — in biology
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. spring — the season
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spring — a coil
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. can — a tin
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. can — a tin
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spring — of water
  24. racket — for tennis

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