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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. cap — a hat
  3. lean — thin
  4. spring — the season
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — to bend
  7. net — in sport
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. squash — the sport
  10. capital — a city
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cue — a signal
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. capital — money
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cue — a hint
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. squash — to crush
  20. ball — a dance
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. cap — a lid

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