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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. present — there
  4. capital — money
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bank — for money
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. file — a document
  11. bank — of a river
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. spring — a coil
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bank — for money
  19. capital — a city
  20. cap — a hat
  21. file — a tool
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. mouse — 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