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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. pop — to visit
  3. spring — a coil
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. track — a path
  9. rest — a break
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. ground — the earth
  12. capital — money
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ground — a position
  16. track — to keep track
  17. ground — crushed
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pop — music
  20. capital — a city
  21. pop — soda
  22. track — a song
  23. rest — what's left
  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