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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. craft — boats
  3. saw — the tool
  4. hand — help
  5. field — farmland
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. field — for sport
  9. spring — a coil
  10. saw — the tool
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spring — the season
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — a skill
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. field — a subject
  23. mate — a partner
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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