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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. key — the most important part
  5. pop — soda
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. pop — to visit
  8. cap — a lid
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. cap — a hat
  11. capital — a city
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. spring — the season
  14. capital — money
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. key — for a lock
  17. spring — a coil
  18. mine — for digging
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. spring — of water
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cap — of ice
  23. key — in music
  24. mine — an explosive

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