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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. drill — a practice
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. swing — music
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. drill — the tool
  9. spring — the season
  10. ground — the earth
  11. deal — to handle
  12. swing — to play on
  13. drill — army training
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. spring — a coil
  16. ground — a position
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. spring — of water
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wake — a trail
  24. deal — a big deal

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