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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 124 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. file — a document
  3. spell — letters
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. spring — of water
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — a gift
  8. capital — a city
  9. date — the fruit
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. spring — a coil
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spell — magic
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. spell — a short time
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — a trace
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. file — a tool
  21. present — there
  22. spring — the season
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. date — on the calendar

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