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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. sharp — clever
  4. capital — a city
  5. spring — the season
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. capital — money
  8. squash — the sport
  9. club — for golf
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. club — a group
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. club — for dancing
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. mine — for digging
  17. firm — steady
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. firm — decided
  20. chair — a leader
  21. squash — to crush
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. firm — a company
  24. capital — a big letter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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