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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. capital — a city
  5. race — humankind
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. club — for golf
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spring — a coil
  13. club — for dancing
  14. race — a contest
  15. capital — money
  16. club — a group
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. march — music
  21. race — the arms race
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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