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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — for money
  4. hand — in cards
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. vault — a safe
  9. spring — the season
  10. capital — a city
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. net — for catching
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. spring — a coil
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. capital — money
  17. bear — the animal
  18. net — after costs
  19. hand — help
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. net — in sport
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bear — the animal

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