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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. mate — a partner
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. spring — a coil
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. face — part of the head
  11. stock — goods
  12. face — to confront
  13. stock — shares
  14. face — to point toward
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. mate — a friend
  18. mate — to breed

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