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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spring — the season
  6. bound — obliged
  7. rest — a break
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bound — certain
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bound — tied together
  20. ball — a great time
  21. capital — money
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. spring — of water
  24. rest — what's left

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