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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. capital — a city
  6. spring — of water
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — money
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. spring — the season
  14. key — in music
  15. pound — a weight
  16. key — the most important part
  17. shower — to wash
  18. season — in sport
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. key — for a lock
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. prune — to trim
  23. shower — rain
  24. coach — a trainer

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