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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. spring — of water
  2. land — to come down
  3. rest — what's left
  4. spring — the season
  5. capital — a city
  6. land — a country
  7. club — for golf
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bulb — for light
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. capital — money
  14. land — ground
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. saw — the tool
  18. club — for dancing
  19. rest — a break
  20. bulb — for light
  21. club — a group
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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