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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 116 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  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 — of water
  2. dip — to sink
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. stock — shares
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. capital — a city
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. spring — the season
  9. band — a ring
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bound — obliged
  13. band — a music group
  14. bound — tied together
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. capital — money
  20. stock — goods
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bound — certain
  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