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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. capital — money
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. capital — a city
  8. mark — a grade
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. scale — in music
  12. spring — the season
  13. cue — a hint
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — for pool
  18. season — of the year
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mark — a trace
  22. season — in sport
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. calf — a young animal

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