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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. pop — soda
  3. capital — money
  4. pop — to visit
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. present — a gift
  7. fall — to drop
  8. stand — to bear
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. capital — a city
  12. present — the time now
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fall — the season
  17. spring — the season
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fall — to drop
  20. ball — a great time
  21. pop — music
  22. present — there
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. spring — of water

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