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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rest — what's left
  8. capital — money
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cap — a hat
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cell — a phone
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rest — a break
  19. snap — to click
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cell — in a prison

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