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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. spring — of water
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. present — the time now
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. present — a gift
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ground — crushed
  10. present — there
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. squash — the sport
  13. ground — the earth
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. ground — a position
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. capital — money
  21. spring — the season
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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