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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. bat — the animal
  3. lie — to recline
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. capital — a city
  8. mug — a face
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. land — to come down
  12. spring — of water
  13. wake — a trail
  14. land — ground
  15. capital — money
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mug — a cup
  19. mug — to rob
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. land — a country
  24. spring — the season

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