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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: hide · capital · stick · arm · fan · cold · staff · mine

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. staff — employees
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. staff — employees
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. capital — money
  21. mine — for digging
  22. staff — a stick
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. capital — a big letter

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