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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. ball — a great time
  3. spring — of water
  4. rest — what's left
  5. shower — rain
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. ball — a dance
  11. capital — money
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spring — a coil
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. spring — the season
  23. capital — a city
  24. shower — to wash

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