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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. staff — employees
  3. land — ground
  4. present — a gift
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. field — farmland
  8. land — a country
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. spring — the season
  12. bank — for money
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. field — a subject
  15. capital — money
  16. present — the time now
  17. land — to come down
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. present — there
  20. staff — employees
  21. spring — of water
  22. staff — a stick
  23. field — for sport
  24. spring — a coil

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