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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. capital — money
  3. lean — thin
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bank — for money
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fall — to drop
  10. capital — a city
  11. spring — the season
  12. cue — for pool
  13. fall — the season
  14. bank — of a river
  15. stock — shares
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pound — a weight
  21. stock — goods
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cue — a signal
  24. bank — for money

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