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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: stick · pop · rock · field · cap · capital · row · snap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. pop — soda
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. cap — of ice
  5. snap — to click
  6. rock — a stone
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. rock — music
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. capital — a city
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. row — a line
  15. cap — a lid
  16. field — a subject
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. field — for sport
  19. pop — music
  20. capital — money
  21. field — farmland
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pop — to visit

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