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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. spring — of water
  4. cell — a phone
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. rash — a series
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. mark — a grade
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cell — in biology
  12. capital — money
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. spring — the season
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — a city
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wind — moving air
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rash — on the skin

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