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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. drill — the tool
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. drill — a practice
  6. bear — the animal
  7. spring — the season
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. clip — to cut
  11. capital — money
  12. clip — for paper
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. drill — army training
  16. spring — a coil
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. chair — a leader
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. capital — a city
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. clip — a video
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. chair — to sit on

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