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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. capital — money
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fine — high quality
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — music
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bark — to shout
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. capital — a city
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. spring — the season
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. fine — all right
  24. rock — to move gently

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