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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 116 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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bear — the animal
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. capital — a city
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. net — in sport
  9. capital — money
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bear — the animal
  12. game — wild animals
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. spring — of water
  15. rock — a stone
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. spring — a coil
  18. game — a match
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. club — a group
  21. net — after costs
  22. rock — music
  23. spring — the season
  24. rock — to move gently

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