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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. degree — from a university
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. court — for sport
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. degree — an amount
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. toast — bread
  14. roll — a list
  15. court — of a king
  16. spring — of water
  17. degree — temperature
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. roll — a cake
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. court — of law

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