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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spring — of water
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. capital — money
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. present — there
  12. board — a committee
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. present — the time now
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — a coil
  20. board — to get on
  21. present — a gift
  22. spring — the season
  23. capital — a city
  24. board — a flat piece

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