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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: leaves · ground · dip · present · capital · row · pop · scale

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. ground — a position
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pop — music
  8. present — a gift
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. row — to paddle
  11. capital — a city
  12. pop — soda
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. present — the time now
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. pop — to visit
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. scale — in music
  23. dip — to sink
  24. present — there

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