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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 120 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. capital — money
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — music
  12. capital — a city
  13. mate — to breed
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — a partner
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. pitch — completely
  21. spring — of water
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. capital — a big letter

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