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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. capital — money
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. firm — steady
  10. firm — a company
  11. cell — in biology
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. spring — the season
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. firm — decided
  19. cell — a phone
  20. plane — a tool
  21. spring — of water
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. coach — a trainer

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