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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ground — a position
  3. mark — a grade
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. ground — crushed
  7. rash — hasty
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. stem — to come from
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rash — a series

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