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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. face — to point toward
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. face — part of the head
  14. spring — the season
  15. capital — a city
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. row — to paddle
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. capital — money
  22. spring — of water
  23. face — to confront
  24. arm — a part of something

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