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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. suit — clothes
  4. capital — money
  5. suit — in cards
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wound — an injury
  8. branch — a division
  9. spring — the season
  10. rest — a break
  11. suit — to fit
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — of water
  17. hand — in cards
  18. capital — a city
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. hand — help
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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