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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. charge — a price
  4. charge — in control
  5. file — a line of people
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. mark — a trace
  9. saw — the tool
  10. capital — a city
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. charge — electricity
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. file — a document
  17. spring — a coil
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. mark — a grade
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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