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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. present — the time now
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. ball — a great time
  5. field — farmland
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. spring — of water
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. field — a subject
  11. spring — the season
  12. present — a gift
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. capital — a city
  17. present — there
  18. capital — money
  19. spell — magic
  20. stock — goods
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. stock — shares
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. field — for sport

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