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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. capital — a city
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. spring — of water
  6. saw — the tool
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. last — final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. deal — to handle
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. spring — a coil
  17. capital — money
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. last — finally
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. last — to go on
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. saw — the tool

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