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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. spring — of water
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. staff — a stick
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rock — a stone
  8. spring — the season
  9. cell — in biology
  10. rock — music
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bat — the animal
  15. capital — a city
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. capital — money
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. staff — employees
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. staff — employees
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cell — a phone

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