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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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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: mine · season · leaves · foot · rush · cap · capital · track

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. track — a song
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. cap — of ice
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. rush — hurry
  11. foot — a measure
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. season — in sport
  15. track — to keep track
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mine — for digging
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. track — a path
  22. capital — money
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. capital — a city

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