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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. field — for sport
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bound — certain
  6. lie — to recline
  7. spell — letters
  8. capital — money
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. spring — a coil
  11. capital — a city
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. spring — the season
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bound — tied together
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. field — farmland
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bound — obliged
  22. field — a subject
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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