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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spell — magic
  4. cap — a lid
  5. rest — a break
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. track — a path
  9. cap — of ice
  10. capital — a city
  11. cap — a hat
  12. prune — to trim
  13. track — a song
  14. prune — to trim
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. spell — letters
  20. track — to keep track
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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